Terms Used In West Virginia Code > Chapter 33 > Article 13C - Viatical Settlements Act

• Advertising: means any written, electronic or printed communication or any communication by means of recorded telephone messages or transmitted on radio, television, the Internet or similar communications media, including film strips, motion pictures and videos, published, disseminated, circulated or placed, directly or indirectly, before the public in this state for the purpose of creating an interest in or inducing a person to sell, assign, devise, bequest or transfer the death benefit or ownership of a life insurance policy pursuant to a viatical settlement contract. See West Virginia Code 33-13C-2
• 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.
• 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}
• Bequest: Property gifted by will.
• Business of viatical settlements: means an activity involved in, but not limited to, the offering, soliciting, negotiating, procuring, effectuating, purchasing, investing, financing, monitoring, tracking, underwriting, selling, transferring, assigning, pledging, hypothecating or in any other manner, acquiring an interest in a life insurance policy by means of a viatical settlement contract. See West Virginia Code 33-13C-2
• Chronically ill: means having been certified within the preceding twelve-month period by a licensed health professional as:

  (A) Being unable to perform, without substantial assistance from another individual, at least two of the following activities of daily living, including, but not limited to, eating, toileting, transferring, bathing, dressing or continence due to a loss of functional capacity. See West Virginia Code 33-13C-2

• 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.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• 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.
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Devise: To gift property by will.
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Embezzlement: In most states, embezzlement is defined as theft/larceny of assets (money or property) by a person in a position of trust or responsibility over those assets. Embezzlement typically occurs in the employment and corporate settings. ^{Source: OCC}
• Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
• Financing entity: means an underwriter, placement agent, lender, purchaser of securities, purchaser of a policy or certificate from a viatical settlement provider, credit enhancer or any entity that has a direct ownership in a policy or certificate that is the subject of a viatical settlement contract, but whose principal activity related to the transaction is providing funds to effect the viatical settlement or purchase of one or more viaticated policies and who has an agreement in writing with one or more licensed viatical settlement providers to finance the acquisition of viatical settlement contracts. See West Virginia Code 33-13C-2
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Fraudulent viatical settlement act: includes :

  (A) Acts or omissions committed by any person who knowingly or with intent to defraud, for the purpose of depriving another of property or for pecuniary gain, commits or permits its employees or its agents to engage in acts including:

  (i) Presenting, causing to be presented or preparing with knowledge or belief that it will be presented to or by a viatical settlement provider, viatical settlement broker, viatical settlement purchaser, financing entity, insurer, insurance producer or any other person, false material information or concealing material information, as part of, in support of or concerning a fact material to one or more of the following:

  (I) An application for the issuance of a viatical settlement contract or insurance policy. See West Virginia Code 33-13C-2

• in writing: includes any representation of words, letters, or figures, whether by printing, engraving, writing, or otherwise. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
• Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
• Judgment: includes decrees and orders for the payment of money, or the conveyance or delivery of land or personal property, or some interest therein, or any undertaking, bond or recognizance which has the legal effect of a judgment. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
• 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.
• Life insurance producer: means any person licensed in accordance with the provisions of article twelve of this chapter as a resident or nonresident insurance producer who has received qualification or authority for a license in the life insurance coverage line of authority. See West Virginia Code 33-13C-2
• Nolo contendere: No contest-has the same effect as a plea of guilty, as far as the criminal sentence is concerned, but may not be considered as an admission of guilt for any other purpose.
• oath: shall be deemed to include an affirmation and the word "swear" or "sworn" to be complied with if the person referred to make solemn affirmation. See West Virginia Code 2-2-7
• Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
• 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.
• Offense: includes every act or omission for which a fine, forfeiture, or punishment is imposed by law. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
• 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: means a natural person or a legal entity, including, without limitation, an individual, partnership, limited liability company, association, trust or corporation. See West Virginia Code 33-13C-2
• Policy: means an individual or group policy, group certificate, contract or arrangement of life insurance owned by a resident of this state, regardless of whether delivered or issued for delivery in this state. See West Virginia Code 33-13C-2
• Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
• Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
• Recourse: An arrangement in which a bank retains, in form or in substance, any credit risk directly or indirectly associated with an asset it has sold (in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles) that exceeds a pro rata share of the bank's claim on the asset. If a bank has no claim on an asset it has sold, then the retention of any credit risk is recourse. ^{Source: FDIC}
• Related provider trust: means a titling trust or other trust established by a licensed viatical settlement provider or a financing entity for the sole purpose of holding the ownership or beneficial interest in purchased policies in connection with a financing transaction. See West Virginia Code 33-13C-2
• 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.
• Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
• Sequester: To separate. Sometimes juries are sequestered from outside influences during their deliberations.
• 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.
• Special purpose entity: means a corporation, partnership, trust, limited liability company or other similar entity formed solely to provide either directly or indirectly access, either directly or indirectly, to institutional capital markets for a financing entity or licensed viatical settlement provider or in connection with a transaction in which the securities in the special purpose entity are acquired by qualified institutional buyers. See West Virginia Code 33-13C-2
• State: when applied to a part of the United States and not restricted by the context, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" also include the said district and territories. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Terminally ill: means certified by a physician as having an illness or physical condition that can reasonably be anticipated to result in death in twenty-four months or less. See West Virginia Code 33-13C-2
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• 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.
• Trust account: A general term that covers all types of accounts in a trust department, such as estates, guardianships, and agencies. ^{Source: OCC}
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• Viatical settlement broker: means a person who, working exclusively on behalf of a viator and for a fee, commission or other valuable consideration, offers or attempts to negotiate viatical settlement contracts between a viator and one or more viatical settlement providers or one or more viatical settlement brokers. See West Virginia Code 33-13C-2
• Viatical settlement contract: means any of the following:

  (A) A written agreement between a viator and a viatical settlement provider or any affiliate of the viatical settlement provider establishing the terms under which compensation or anything of value is or will be paid, which compensation or value is less than the expected death benefits of the policy, in return for the viator'. See West Virginia Code 33-13C-2

• Viatical settlement provider: means a person, other than a viator, that enters into or effectuates a viatical settlement contract with a viator resident in this state. See West Virginia Code 33-13C-2
• Viatical settlement purchaser: means a person who provides a sum of money as consideration for a life insurance policy or an interest in the death benefits of a life insurance policy, or a person who owns or acquires or is entitled to a beneficial interest in a trust that owns a viatical settlement contract or is the beneficiary of a life insurance policy that has been or will be the subject of a viatical settlement contract, for the purpose of deriving an economic benefit. See West Virginia Code 33-13C-2
• Viaticated policy: means a life insurance policy or certificate that has been acquired by a viatical settlement provider pursuant to a viatical settlement contract. See West Virginia Code 33-13C-2
• Viator: means the owner of a life insurance policy or a certificate holder under a group policy who resides in this state and enters or seeks to enter into a viatical settlement contract. See West Virginia Code 33-13C-2