Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Asset definition

What does Asset mean? In legal practice, an asset is any thing of economic value that a person or entity owns or controls and can realise, transfer, secure or enforce. The term is descriptive and used across contexts (company law, trusts, matrimonial finance, probate, enforcement and insolvency), with specific legislation or rules defining it for particular purposes (for example, insolvency, taxation and financial services). Assets include land and buildings, cash and bank balances, securities (shares, bonds and other fixed‑income instruments), receivables, contractual rights (choses in action), intellectual property, goodwill and, increasingly, cryptoassets. Assets may comprise legal or equitable interests and can be tangible or...

Bankruptcy estate in England and Wales: vesting, exclusions, antecedent transactions, after-acquired property, pensions, and protection steps for trustees and the Official Receiver

Published by a LexisNexis Restructuring & Insolvency expert

Practice notes

Definition of property and some general principles

Section 436 of the Insolvency Act 1986 (IA 1986) adopts an exceptionally broad conception of property. It covers money, goods, choses in action, land and every variety of property wherever situated, as well as obligations and every form of interest—whether present or future, vested or contingent—that arises from, or is incidental to, property. This statutory reach extends to Assets of all kinds, tangible and intangible, and regardless of location (on foreign property—see Sanders v Donovan). As regards land, the usual rules of international law mean a Trustee in bankruptcy (Trustee) will need an order from the court of the place where the asset is situated to enforce their rights. In broad terms, all property (so widely defined) that belongs to, or is vested in, the Bankrupt at the start of the bankruptcy falls into the bankruptcy estate and vests in the trustee automatically upon their appointment. There are, nevertheless, certain exceptions and qualifications to note...

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Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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