Creditor

A person to whom or business to which the debtor owes money or that claims to be owed money by the debtor.

Lawyer Advertising Toll Free Numbers

Additional Sources

Answers.com

An entity (person or institution) that extends credit by giving another entity permission to borrow money if it is paid back at a later date. Creditors can be classified as either "personal" or "real". Those people who loan money to friends or family are personal creditors. Real creditors (i.e. a bank or finance company) have legal contracts with the borrower granting the lender the right to claim any of the debtor's real assets (e.g. real estate or car) if he or she fails to pay back the loan.

Duhaime Legal Dictionary

A person to whom money, goods or services are owed by the debtor.

FindLaw

A person to whom a debt is owed.

A person to whom money or goods are due.

Lect Law Library

A person (or institution) to whom money is owed.

A creditor is someone who has a right to require the fulfilment of an obligation or contract.

Creditors may be divided into personal and real.

The former are so called because their claims are mainly against the person who can reach the property of their debtors only by virtue of the general rule by which he who has become personally obligated, is bound to fulfil his engagements, with all his property acquired and to be acquired, which is a common guaranty for all his creditors.

The latter are called real because they have mortgages or other securities binding on the real estates of their debtors.

It is proper to state that personal creditors may be divided into two classes; first, those who have a right on all the property of their debtors without considering the origin or the nature of their claims; secondly, those who, in consequence of some provision of law, are entitled to some special prerogative, either in the manner of recovery or in the rank they are to hold among creditors; these are entitled to preference. As an example may be mentioned the case of the United State; when they are creditors they have always a preference in case of insolvent estates.

A creditor sometimes becomes so unknown to his debtor, as is the case when the former receives an assignment of commercial paper, the title to recover which may be conveyed either by endorsement or, in some cases, by mere delivery. But in general it is essential there should be a privity of contract between the parties.

Legal-Dictionary.org

The keeper of a debt; a person or organization to which money is owed.

The Free (Legal) Dictionary

An individual to whom an obligation is owed because he or she has given something of value in exchange. One who may legally demand and receive money, either through the fulfillment of a contract or due to injury sustained as a result of another's Negligence or intentionally wrongful act. The term creditor is also used to describe an individual who is engaged in the business of lending money or selling items for which immediate payment is not demanded but an obligation of repayment exists as of a future date.

Wikipedia

A creditor is a party (e.g. person, organization, company, or government) that has a claim to the services of a second party. It is a person or institution to whom money is owed. [1] The first party, in general, has provided some property or service to the second party under the assumption (usually enforced by contract) that the second party will return an equivalent property or service. The second party is frequently called a debtor or borrower. The first party is the creditor, which is the lender of property, service or money.

The term creditor is frequently used in the financial world, especially in reference to short term loans, long term bonds, and mortgages. In law, a person who has a money judgment entered in their favor by a court is called a judgement creditor.

The term creditor derives from the notion of credit. In modern America, credit refers to a rating which indicates the likelihood a borrower will pay back his or her loan. In earlier times, credit also referred to reputation or trustworthiness.