As a general rule, insolvency is assumed if the company's liquidity gap is 10% or more, unless it is extremely likely that the liquidity gap will be fully or almost fully closed in the near future and creditors can reasonably wait under the specific circumstances of the individual case.
There are exceptions where the managing director cannot be held responsible for the debt in an insolvency situation if doing so helps to avoid greater disadvantage to the insolvent company's financial situation.
This can apply in particular to payments that prevent business operations from being discontinued, which would have destroyed any chance of reorganization or continued operation in insolvency proceedings (e.g. payments to the energy supplier).
Payments aimed at preserving the prospect of reorganization are preferred only for a limited period, usually three weeks, within which the restructuring effort has to be accomplished.