Masseverbindlichkeit (estate liability, § 55 InsO)

§ 55 InsO defines estate liabilities as debts arising from the administrator's acts after the case opens — for example contracts continued under the election right (§ 103 InsO), ongoing operations (payroll, rent, inventory purchases), or a Massekredit taken on against the estate. Certain liabilities from a preliminary 'strong' administration also count (§ 55(2) InsO).

The key distinction from an ordinary insolvency claim: estate liabilities are paid preferentially and in full from the estate, before any distribution to ordinary creditors happens at all (§ 53 InsO). If the estate can't even cover these, that's Masseunzulänglichkeit — estate insufficiency (§ 208 InsO) — a further warning sign for buyers, since even the administrator's ongoing payment obligations become at risk.

For insolvency buyers, understanding this classification helps read the administrator's negotiating position correctly: an administrator carrying sizeable outstanding estate liabilities (from a Massekredit or continued supply contracts, say) often has a heightened interest in a fast, cash-generating close, because the purchase price must service these preferential obligations before any thought can be given to the ordinary creditors' quota.