As used in ORS § 98.302 to 98.436 and 98.992, unless the context otherwise requires:

Terms Used In Oregon Statutes 98.302

  • 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
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • 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
  • Intangible property: Property that has no intrinsic value, but is merely the evidence of value such as stock certificates, bonds, and promissory notes.
  • Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
  • Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
  • Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
  • Person: includes individuals, corporations, associations, firms, partnerships, limited liability companies and joint stock companies. See Oregon Statutes 174.100
  • Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
  • United States: includes territories, outlying possessions and the District of Columbia. See Oregon Statutes 174.100

(1) ‘Apparent owner’ means the person whose name appears on the records of the holder as the person entitled to property held, issued or owing by the holder.

(2) ‘Business association’ means a nonpublic corporation, joint stock company, business trust, partnership, investment company or an association for business purposes of two or more individuals, whether or not for profit, including a financial institution, insurance company or utility.

(3) ‘Domicile’ means the state of incorporation of a corporation and the state of the principal place of business of an unincorporated person.

(4) ‘Financial institution’ means a financial institution or a trust company, as those terms are defined in ORS § 706.008, a safe deposit company, a private banker, a savings and loan association, a building and loan association or an investment company.

(5) ‘Holder’ means a person, wherever organized or domiciled, who is in possession of property belonging to another, a trustee or indebted to another on an obligation.

(6) ‘Insurance company’ means an association, corporation, fraternal or mutual benefit organization, whether or not for profit, that is engaged in providing insurance coverage, including accident, burial, casualty, workers’ compensation, credit life, contract performance, dental, fidelity, fire, health, hospitalization, illness, life (including endowments and annuities), malpractice, marine, mortgage, surety and wage protection insurance.

(7) ‘Intangible property’ includes:

(a) Credit balances, customer overpayments, security deposits, refunds, credit memos, unpaid wages, unused airline tickets and unidentified remittances;

(b) Stocks and other intangible ownership interests in business associations;

(c) Moneys deposited to redeem stocks, bonds, coupons, and other securities, or to make distributions;

(d) Amounts due and payable under the terms of insurance policies;

(e) Amounts distributed from a trust or custodial fund established under a plan to provide health, welfare, pension, vacation, severance, retirement, death, stock purchase, profit sharing, employee savings, supplemental unemployment insurance or similar benefits; and

(f) Moneys, checks, drafts, deposits, interest, dividends and income.

(8) ‘Last-known address’ means a description of the location of the apparent owner sufficient for the purpose of delivery of mail.

(9) ‘Lawful deduction’ means a deduction related to the purpose of an account or deposit, for example, to satisfy unpaid utility bills.

(10) ‘Owner’ means a depositor in case of a deposit, a beneficiary in case of a trust other than a deposit in trust, a creditor, claimant, or payee in case of other intangible property, or a person, or the person’s legal representative, having a legal or equitable interest in property.

(11) ‘Person’ means an individual, business association, state or other government or political subdivision or agency, public corporation, public authority, two or more persons having a joint or common interest, or any other legal or commercial entity.

(12) ‘Service charge’ means fees or charges that are limited to a specific situation and that meet basic contractual and notice requirements.

(13) ‘State’ means any state, district, commonwealth, territory, insular possession or any other area subject to the legislative authority of the United States.

(14) ‘Utility’ means a person who owns or operates for public use, any plant, equipment, property, franchise or license for the transmission of communications or the production, storage, transmission, sale, delivery or furnishing of electricity, water, steam or gas. [1957 c.670 § 3; 1983 c.716 § 1; 1993 c.694 § 40; 1997 c.416 § 1; 1997 c.631 § 396; 2003 c.272 § 1; 2009 c.294 § 14; 2019 c.678 § 7]