If a debtor owes sums in excess of the limits of a Chapter 13, and a Chapter 7 is not an option, a Chapter 11 Bankruptcy may be filed to reorganize and stay in business. A Chapter 11 Bankruptcy is a viable option where there is a reorganizable business that has the assets and cash flow to propose a plan acceptable to its creditors which will allow the business to reorganize by the restructuring of its debt so it can continue in operation pursuant to the terms of the proposed plan.

The ultimate goal of the filing of a Chapter 11 is to emerge as a reorganized business that will be successful and profitable enough to pay out the proposed terms to creditors. In a successful Chapter 11, debtors generally reduce expenses and try to generate excess sales in an effort to provide more payments to creditors that would otherwise be received if the business were liquidated in a Chapter 7 proceeding.

A Chapter 11 is more complicated, and therefore more expensive, for the reason that this option is designed to reorganize debtors of any size. In order to emerge as a confirmed debtor, the legal requirements of Chapter 11 must be met. The plan as proposed must be approved by the required number and type of creditors, or approved by Court Order.