As used in this chapter:

(1) "Annuity issuer" means an insurer that has issued a contract to fund periodic payments under a structured settlement.

Terms Used In South Carolina Code 15-50-20

  • 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.
  • Annuity issuer: means an insurer that has issued a contract to fund periodic payments under a structured settlement. See South Carolina Code 15-50-20
  • 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.
  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.
  • 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 a reduction for transfer expenses or other deduction is made from the consideration. See South Carolina Code 15-50-20
  • Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
  • Net advance amount: means the gross advance amount less the aggregate amount of the actual and estimated transfer expenses that must be disclosed pursuant to § 15-50-30(5). See South Carolina Code 15-50-20
  • 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.
  • Payee: means an individual who is receiving tax-free payments under a structured settlement and who proposes to make a transfer of payment rights under the settlement. See South Carolina Code 15-50-20
  • Periodic payments: includes recurring payments and scheduled future lump-sum payments. See South Carolina Code 15-50-20
  • 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. See South Carolina Code 15-50-20
  • Secretary: means the Secretary of State. See South Carolina Code 15-50-20
  • 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.
  • 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. See South Carolina Code 15-50-20
  • Structured settlement agreement: means the agreement, judgment, stipulation, or release embodying the terms of a structured settlement. See South Carolina Code 15-50-20
  • Structured settlement obligor: means , with respect to a 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. See South Carolina Code 15-50-20
  • Structured settlement payment rights: means rights to receive periodic payments under a structured settlement, whether from the structured settlement obligor or the annuity issuer, if the:

    (a) 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; or

    (b) structured settlement agreement was approved by a court in this State; or

    (c) structured settlement agreement is governed expressly by the laws of this State. See South Carolina Code 15-50-20
  • Structured settlement purchase company: means a person who acts as a transferee in the State and who is registered with the Secretary pursuant to § 15-50-80 through § 15-50-150. See South Carolina Code 15-50-20
  • Terms of the structured settlement: include the terms of the structured settlement agreement, the annuity contract, a qualified assignment agreement, and an order or other approval of a court that approved a structured settlement agreement. See South Carolina Code 15-50-20
  • Tort: A civil wrong or breach of a duty to another person, as outlined by law. A very common tort is negligent operation of a motor vehicle that results in property damage and personal injury in an automobile accident.
  • Transfer: means the sale, assignment, pledge, hypothecation, or other alienation or encumbrance of structured settlement payment rights made by a payee for consideration; except 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 an action to redirect the structured settlement payments to the insured depository institution, or an agent or successor in interest of it, or otherwise to enforce the blanket security interest against the structured settlement payment rights. See South Carolina Code 15-50-20
  • Transfer agreement: means the agreement providing for a transfer of structured settlement payment rights. See South Carolina Code 15-50-20
  • 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, finder's fees, commissions, and other payments to a broker or other intermediary. See South Carolina Code 15-50-20
  • Transferee: means a party acquiring or proposing to acquire structured settlement payment rights through a transfer. See South Carolina Code 15-50-20

(2) "Assignee" means a person acquiring or proposing to acquire structured settlement payments from a structured settlement purchase company or transferee after, or concurrently with, the transfer of the structured settlement payment rights by the payee to the structured settlement purchase company or transferee.

(3) "Dependents" include a payee’s spouse and minor children and all other persons for whom the payee legally is obligated to provide support, including alimony.

(4) "Discounted present value" means the present value of future payments determined by discounting the 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.

(5) "Effective annual interest rate" means the effective rate of interest per year the payee will be paying the transferee based on the net advance amount that a payee will receive from the transferee and the amounts and timing of the structured settlement payments that the payee is transferring to the transferee.

(6) "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 a reduction for transfer expenses or other deduction is made from the consideration.

(7) "Independent professional advice" means advice of an attorney, certified public accountant, actuary, or other licensed professional advisor.

(8) "Interested parties" means, with respect to a structured settlement, the payee, a 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 to the structured settlement that has continuing rights or obligations to receive or make payments under the structured settlement.

(9) "Net advance amount" means the gross advance amount less the aggregate amount of the actual and estimated transfer expenses that must be disclosed pursuant to § 15-50-30(5).

(10) "Payee" means an individual who is receiving tax-free payments under a structured settlement and who proposes to make a transfer of payment rights under the settlement.

(11) "Periodic payments" includes recurring payments and scheduled future lump-sum payments.

(12) "Prospective payee" means an individual who is receiving tax-free payments under a structured settlement pursuant to United States Code, title 26, § 130, and who has been personally and individually solicited by and has not yet proposed to transfer all or a portion of the structured settlement payment rights to a structured settlement purchase company.

(13) "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.

(14) "Secretary" means the Secretary of State.

(15) "Settled claim" means the original tort claim resolved by a structured settlement.

(16) "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. Notwithstanding another provision of law, a structured settlement is not a consumer loan or otherwise subject to Title 37.

(17) "Structured settlement agreement" means the agreement, judgment, stipulation, or release embodying the terms of a structured settlement.

(18) "Structured settlement obligor" means, with respect to a 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.

(19) "Structured settlement payment rights" means rights to receive periodic payments under a structured settlement, whether from the structured settlement obligor or the annuity issuer, if the:

(a) 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; or

(b) structured settlement agreement was approved by a court in this State; or

(c) structured settlement agreement is governed expressly by the laws of this State.

(20) "Structured settlement purchase company" means a person who acts as a transferee in the State and who is registered with the Secretary pursuant to § 15-50-80 through § 15-50-150.

(21) "Structured settlement transfer proceeding" means a court proceeding initiated by the filing of an application by a structured settlement purchase company seeking court approval of a transfer in accordance with this chapter.

(22) "Terms of the structured settlement" include the terms of the structured settlement agreement, the annuity contract, a qualified assignment agreement, and an order or other approval of a court that approved a structured settlement agreement.

(23) "Transfer" means the sale, assignment, pledge, hypothecation, or other alienation or encumbrance of structured settlement payment rights made by a payee for consideration; except 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 an action to redirect the structured settlement payments to the insured depository institution, or an agent or successor in interest of it, or otherwise to enforce the blanket security interest against the structured settlement payment rights.

(24) "Transfer agreement" means the agreement providing for a transfer of structured settlement payment rights.

(25) "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, finder’s 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.

(26) "Transfer order" means an order approving a transfer in accordance with this chapter.

(27) "Transferee" means a party acquiring or proposing to acquire structured settlement payment rights through a transfer.

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