Legal Definitions - settle up

SETTLE UP

Settle up is a verb that means to collect, pay, and turn over debts and property. This is usually done when someone dies, a business goes bankrupt, or becomes insolvent.

1. After my grandfather passed away, we had to settle up his estate by paying off his debts and distributing his property among his heirs.

2. The company went bankrupt, and the court appointed a trustee to settle up the company's debts and assets.

These examples illustrate how settle up is used to describe the process of collecting debts and distributing property in situations where someone has died or a business has become insolvent. In both cases, there are debts that need to be paid and assets that need to be distributed, and settling up refers to the process of doing so.