Colorado § 13-23-102 - Definitions.

§ 13-23-102. Definitions.

As used in this article, unless the context otherwise requires:

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

(2) "Dependent" means a payee's spouse, minor child, or any person for whom the payee is legally obligated to provide support, including maintenance.

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

(4) "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 any reductions for transfer expenses or other deductions are made from such consideration.

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

(6) "Interested parties" means the payee, any 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 who has continuing rights or obligations under such structured settlement. If a delegate child support enforcement unit is enforcing a payee's legal obligation to support his or her dependent children, pursuant to section 26-13-105, C.R.S., "interested parties" shall also include the delegate child support enforcement unit.

(7) "Net advance amount" means the gross advance amount less the aggregate amount of the actual and estimated transfer expenses required to be disclosed under section 13-23-103.

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

(9) "Periodic payment" means a recurring payment or a scheduled future lump-sum payment.

(10) "Qualified assignment agreement" means an agreement providing for a qualified assignment within the meaning of section 130 of the federal "Internal Revenue Code of 1986", as amended.

(11) "Responsible administrative authority" means any government authority vested by law with exclusive jurisdiction over the settled claim resolved by such structured settlement.

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

(13) "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.

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

(15) "Structured settlement obligor" means the party who has the continuing obligation to make periodic payments to the payee under a structured settlement agreement or a qualified assignment agreement.

(16) "Structured settlement payment right" means the right to receive periodic payments under a structured settlement, whether from the structured settlement obligor or the annuity issuer, where:

(a) The payee is domiciled in Colorado or the domicile or principal place of business of the structured settlement obligor or the annuity issuer is Colorado; or

(b) The structured settlement agreement was approved by a court or responsible administrative authority in Colorado; or

(c) The structured settlement agreement is expressly governed by the laws of Colorado.

(17) "Terms of the structured settlement" means the terms of the structured settlement agreement, the annuity contract, a qualified assignment agreement, and any order or other approval of a court or responsible administrative authority or other government authority that authorized or approved such structured settlement.

(18) "Transfer" means a sale, assignment, pledge, hypothecation, or other alienation or encumbrance of a structured settlement payment right made by a payee for consideration; except that the term "transfer" does not include the creation or perfection of a security interest in a structured settlement payment right under a blanket security agreement entered into with an insured depository institution in the absence of any action to redirect the structured settlement payments to such insured depository institution, or an agent or successor in interest thereof, or otherwise to enforce such blanket security interest against the structured settlement payment rights.

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

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

(21) "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, attorney fees, escrow fees, lien recordation fees, judgment and lien search fees, finders' fees, commissions, and other payments to a broker or other intermediary. "Transfer expenses" does not include preexisting obligations of the payee payable for the payee's account from the proceeds of a transfer.

Source: L. 2004: Entire article added, p. 494, § 1, effective July 1.