As we've mentioned, a claim is any right to payment, regardless whether it's secured, unsecured, liquidated, unliquidated, matured, unmatured, contingent, fixed, disputed, undisputed, legal, equitable, and so on. Having a claim against the debtor is the foundation of a creditor's right to participate and, less commonly, receive a distribution in a bankruptcy case.

I. Proof of Claim

More precisely, for a creditor to be treated as a creditor in the bankruptcy case, it must have...