Terms Used In California Codes > Civil Code > Division 2 > Part 2 > Title 3 > Chapter 3 - Environmental Responsibility Acceptance Act

• Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
• Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
• Appraisal: A determination of property value.
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
• Authority: means the California Earthquake Authority. See California Insurance Code 10089.5
• Available capital: includes all interest or other income from the investment of money held in the California Earthquake Authority Fund. See California Insurance Code 10089.5
• Basic residential earthquake insurance: means that policy of residential earthquake insurance described in Section 10089 except as follows:

  California Insurance Code 10089.5

• Beneficiary: means a person to whom a donative transfer of property is made or that person's successor in interest, and:

  California Probate Code 24

• Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. ^{Source: OCC}
• Board: means the governing board of the authority. See California Insurance Code 10089.5
• Bonds: means bonds, notes, commercial paper, variable rate and variable maturity securities, and any other evidence of indebtedness. See California Insurance Code 10089.5
• Case law: The law as laid down in cases that have been decided in the decisions of the courts.
• Claim: means a demand for payment for any of the following, whether due, not due, accrued or not accrued, or contingent, and whether liquidated or unliquidated:

  California Probate Code 9000

• Commissioner: means the Insurance Commissioner of this State. See California Insurance Code 20
• Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
• Creditor: means a person who may have a claim against estate property. See California Probate Code 9000
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Decedent: A deceased person.
• Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
• Devise: when used as a noun, means a disposition of real or personal property by will, and, when used as a verb, means to dispose of real or personal property by will. See California Probate Code 32
• Devise: To gift property by will.
• Devisee: means any person designated in a will to receive a devise. See California Probate Code 34
• Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. ^{Source: U.S. Courts}
• Escheat: Reversion of real or personal property to the state when 1) a person dies without leaving a will and has no heirs, or 2) when the property (such as a bank account) has been inactive for a certain period of time. ^{Source: OCC}
• Executor: A male person named in a will to carry out the decedent
• Fair market value: The price at which an asset would change hands in a transaction between a willing, informed buyer and a willing, informed seller.
• Financial institution: means a state or national bank, state or federal savings and loan association or credit union, or like organization. See California Probate Code 40
• Heir: means any person, including the surviving spouse, who is entitled to take property of the decedent by intestate succession under this code. See California Probate Code 44
• Instrument: means a will, a document establishing or modifying a trust, a deed, or any other writing that designates a beneficiary or makes a donative transfer of property. See California Probate Code 45
• Insurance agent: means a person authorized, by and on behalf of an insurer, to transact all classes of insurance other than life, disability, or health insurance, on behalf of an admitted insurance company. See California Insurance Code 31
• Interest rate: The amount paid by a borrower to a lender in exchange for the use of the lender's money for a certain period of time. Interest is paid on loans or on debt instruments, such as notes or bonds, either at regular intervals or as part of a lump sum payment when the issue matures. ^{Source: OCC}
• interested person: includes any of the following:

  California Probate Code 48

• Interrogatories: Written questions asked by one party of an opposing party, who must answer them in writing under oath; a discovery device in a lawsuit.
• Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). ^{Source: OCC}
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• Mortgage: includes a trust deed, "mortgagor" includes a trustor under such trust deed, "mortgagee" includes a beneficiary under such trust deed, or a trustee exercising powers or performing duties granted to or imposed upon him thereunder, and "lien" in respect to real or personal property includes a charge or incumbrance arising out of a trust deed. See California Insurance Code 29
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• nonresident personal representative: means a nonresident of this state appointed as personal representative, or a resident of this state appointed as personal representative who later removes from and resides without this state. See California Probate Code 8570
• Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
• Panel: means the advisory panel of the authority. See California Insurance Code 10089.5
• Participating insurer: means an insurer that has elected to join the authority. See California Insurance Code 10089.5
• Person: means an individual, corporation, government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability company, association, or other entity. See California Probate Code 56
• Person: means any person, association, organization, partnership, business trust, limited liability company, or corporation. See California Insurance Code 19
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Personal representative: means executor, administrator, administrator with the will annexed, special administrator, successor personal representative, public administrator acting pursuant to Section 7660, or a person who performs substantially the same function under the law of another jurisdiction governing the person's status. See California Probate Code 58
• Policy of residential property insurance: means those policies described in Section 10087. See California Insurance Code 10089.5
• Private capital market: means one or more purchasers of bonds of the authority pursuant to a capital market contract. See California Insurance Code 10089.5
• Probate: Proving a will
• Property: means anything that may be the subject of ownership and includes both real and personal property and any interest therein. See California Probate Code 62
• Real property: includes a leasehold interest in real property. See California Probate Code 68
• Rescission: The cancellation of budget authority previously provided by Congress. The Impoundment Control Act of 1974 specifies that the President may propose to Congress that funds be rescinded. If both Houses have not approved a rescission proposal (by passing legislation) within 45 days of continuous session, any funds being withheld must be made available for obligation.
• Revenue: means all income and receipts of the authority, including, but not limited to, income and receipts derived from premiums, bond purchase agreements, capital contributions by insurers, assessments levied on insurers, surcharges applied to authority earthquake policyholders, and all interest or other income from investment of money in any fund or account of the authority established for the payment of principal or interest, or premiums on bonds, including reserve funds. See California Insurance Code 10089.5
• Security: includes any note, stock, treasury stock, bond, debenture, evidence of indebtedness, certificate of interest or participation in an oil, gas, or mining title or lease or in payments out of production under such a title or lease, collateral trust certificate, transferable share, voting trust certificate or, in general, any interest or instrument commonly known as a security, or any certificate of interest or participation, any temporary or interim certificate, receipt, or certificate of deposit for, or any warrant or right to subscribe to or purchase, any of the foregoing. See California Probate Code 70
• Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
• Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
• Spouse: includes domestic partner, as defined in Section 37 of this code, as required by §. See California Probate Code 72
• State: includes any state of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and any territory or possession subject to the legislative authority of the United States. See California Probate Code 74
• State: means the State of California, unless applied to the different parts of the United States. See California Insurance Code 28
• Statute of limitations: A law that sets the time within which parties must take action to enforce their rights.
• Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
• Testator: A male person who leaves a will at death.
• Trust: includes the following:

  California Probate Code 82

• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• Will: includes codicil and any testamentary instrument which merely appoints an executor or revokes or revises another will. See California Probate Code 88
• will: includes codicil. See California Civil Code 14