N.Y. General Obligations Law § 5-1701: Definitions

§ 5-1701. Definitions. For purposes of this title:

(a) "annuity issuer" means an insurer that has issued an insurance

contract used to fund periodic payments under a structured settlement;

(b) "dependents" include a payee's spouse and minor children and all

other persons for whom the payee is legally obligated to provide

support, including alimony or maintenance;

(c) "discounted present value" means the present value of future

payments, as determined by discounting such payments to the present

using the most recently published applicable federal rate for

determining the present value of an annuity, as issued by the United

States Internal Revenue Service;

(d) "gross advance amount" means the sum payable to the payee or for

the payee's account as consideration for a transfer of structured

settlement payment rights before any reductions for transfer expenses or

other deductions to be made from such consideration;

(e) "independent professional advice" means advice of an attorney,

certified public accountant, actuary or other licensed professional

adviser:

(i) who is engaged by a claimant or payee to render advice concerning

the legal, tax and financial implications of a structured settlement or

a transfer of structured settlement payment rights;

(ii) who is not in any manner affiliated with or compensated by the

defendant in such settlement or the transferee of such transfer; and

(iii) whose compensation for rendering such advice is not affected by

whether a settlement or transfer occurs or does not occur;

(f) "interested parties" means, with respect to any structured

settlement, the payee, any beneficiary irrevocably designated under the

annuity contract to receive payments following the payee's death, the

annuity issuer, the structured settlement obligor, and any other party

that has continuing rights or obligations under such structured

settlement;

(g) "net advance amount" means the gross advance amount less the

aggregate amount of the expenses required to be disclosed under

subdivision (f) of section 5-1703 of this title;

(h) "payee" means an individual who is receiving tax free payments

under a structured settlement and proposes to make a transfer of payment

rights thereunder;

(i) "periodic payments" includes both recurring payments and scheduled

future lump sum payments;

(j) "qualified assignment agreement" means an agreement providing for

a qualified assignment within the meaning of section 130 of the United

States Internal Revenue Code, United States Code Title 26, as amended

from time to time;

(k) "settled claim" means the original tort claim resolved by a

structured settlement;

(l) "structured settlement" means an arrangement for periodic payment

of damages for personal injuries or sickness established by settlement

or judgment in resolution of a tort claim;

(m) "structured settlement agreement" means the agreement, judgment,

stipulation, or release embodying the terms of a structured settlement;

(n) "structured settlement obligor" means, with respect to any

structured settlement, the party that has the continuing obligation to

make periodic payments to the payee under a structured settlement

agreement or a qualified assignment agreement;

(o) "structured settlement payment rights" means rights to receive

periodic payments under a structured settlement, whether from the

structured settlement obligor or the annuity issuer, where:

(i) the payee is domiciled in, or the domicile or principal place of

business of the structured settlement obligor or the annuity issuer is

located in, this state;

(ii) the structured settlement agreement was approved by a court in

this state; or

(iii) the structured settlement agreement is expressly governed by the

laws of this state;

(p) "terms of the structured settlement" include, with respect to any

structured settlement, the terms of the structured settlement agreement,

the annuity contract, any qualified assignment agreement and any order

or approval of any court authorizing or approving such structured

settlement;

(q) "transfer means any sale, assignment, pledge, hypothecation or

other alienation or encumbrance of structured settlement payment rights

made by a payee for consideration; provided that the term "transfer"

does not include the creation or perfection of a security interest in

structured settlement payment rights under a blanket security agreement

entered into with an insured depository institution, in the absence of

any action to redirect the structured settlement payments to such

insured depository institution, or an agent or successor in interest

thereof, or otherwise to enforce such blanket security interest against

the structured settlement payment rights;

(r) "transfer agreement" means the agreement providing for transfer of

structured settlement payment rights from a payee to a transferee;

(s) "transfer expenses" means all expenses of a transfer that are

required under the transfer agreement to be paid by the payee or

deducted from the gross advance amount, including, without limitation,

court filing fees, attorneys fees, escrow fees, lien recordation fees,

judgment and lien search fees, finders' fees, commissions, and other

payments to a broker or other intermediary; "transfer expenses" do not

include preexisting obligations of the payee payable for the payee's

account from the proceeds of a transfer; and

(t) "transferee" means a party acquiring or proposing to acquire

structured settlement payment rights through a transfer or

restructuring.