Subordination

To put in an inferior class or order; to make subject to, or subservient. A legal status that refers to the establishment of priority between various existing liens or encumbrances on the same parcel of property.

A subordination agreement is a contract whereby a creditor agrees that the claims of specified senior creditors must be paid in full before any payment on a subordinate debt can be paid to the subordinate creditor.

A subordination clause in a mortgage is a provision that gives a subsequent mortgage priority over one that has been executed at an earlier date.