Terms Used In Maine Revised Statutes > Title 14 > Part 5 > Chapter 507 > Subchapter 2 > Article 7 - Exemptions

• Annuity: A periodic (usually annual) payment of a fixed sum of money for either the life of the recipient or for a fixed number of years. A series of payments under a contract from an insurance company, a trust company, or an individual. Annuity payments are made at regular intervals over a period of more than one full year.
• Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
• Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Debtor: means an individual debtor. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 14 Sec. 4421
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Dependent: includes a spouse, whether or not actually dependent. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 14 Sec. 4421
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• 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.
• Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
• Garnishment: Generally, garnishment is a court proceeding in which a creditor asks a court to order a third party who owes money to the debtor or otherwise holds assets belonging to the debtor to turn over to the creditor any of the debtor
• 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}
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
• Real estate: includes lands and all tenements and hereditaments connected therewith, and all rights thereto and interests therein. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 1 Sec. 72
• United States: includes territories and the District of Columbia. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 1 Sec. 72
• Value: means fair market value as of the date of the attachment or, in a proceeding under the United States Code, Title 11, the date of the filing of the petition. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 14 Sec. 4421
• Year: means a calendar year, unless otherwise expressed. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 1 Sec. 72