Colonial pays cash for structured settlements!
Maine statues
regarding Structured Settlements.
|
This state statute overseeing the
sale of structured settlement payments and
the buying of annuities is not the Model
Act and requires insurance company consent.
Complies with Federal Law (Colonial's
interpretation)
|
MAINE REVISED STATUTES ANNOTATED
TITLE 24-A. MAINE INSURANCE CODE
CHAPTER 24-A. PROTECTION OF BENEFICIARIES OF STRUCTURED
SETTLEMENTS
Current through 2001 1st Reg. Sess. of 120th Legislature
|
 |
|
|
§ 2241. Definitions
As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise
indicates, the following terms have the following meanings.
1. Annuity issuer. "Annuity issuer" means an insurer
that has issued an insurance contract used to fund periodic
payments under a structured settlement.
2. Applicable law. "Applicable law" means:
A. Federal law;
B. The laws of this State, including principles of
equity applied in the courts of this State; and
C. The laws of any other jurisdiction:
(1) That is the domicile of the payee or any other
interested party;
(2) Under whose laws a structured settlement agreement
was approved by a court or responsible administrative
authority; or
(3) In whose courts a settled claim was pending when
the parties entered into a structured settlement agreement.
3. Dependents. "Dependents" means a payee's spouse
and minor children and all other family members and
other
persons for whom the payee is legally obligated to provide
support, including alimony.
4. Discounted present value. "Discounted present value"
means the fair present value of future payments as
determined by discounting such payments to the present
using the applicable federal rate for determining the
present
value of an annuity most recently published by the United
States Internal Revenue Service.
5. Favorable tax determination. "Favorable tax determination,"
with respect to a proposed transfer of structured
settlement payment rights, means any of the following
authorities that definitively establishes that the federal
income tax treatment of the structured settlement for
the parties, other than the payee, to the structured
settlement agreement and any qualified assignment agreement
will not be affected by that transfer:
A. A provision of the United States Internal Revenue
Code or a United States Treasury regulation adopted
pursuant
to the code;
B. A revenue ruling or revenue procedure issued by
the United States Internal Revenue Service;
C. A private letter ruling by the United States Internal
Revenue Service with respect to that transfer; or
D. A decision by the United States Supreme Court or
a decision of a lower federal court in which the United
States
Internal Revenue Service has acquiesced.
6. Federal hardship standard. "Federal hardship standard"
means a federal standard applicable to transfers of
structured settlement payment rights based on findings
of a court or responsible administrative authority regarding
the payee's needs, as contained in the United States
Internal Revenue Code or in a United States Treasury
regulation
adopted pursuant to the code.
7. Independent professional advice. "Independent professional
advice" means advice of an attorney, certified
public accountant, actuary or other licensed professional
advisor:
A. Who is engaged by a payee to render advice concerning
the legal, tax and financial implications of a transfer
of
structured settlement payment rights;
B. Who is not in any manner affiliated with or compensated
by the transferee of that transfer; and
C. Whose compensation for rendering advice is not affected
by whether a transfer occurs or does not occur.
8. Interested parties. "Interested parties" means the
payee, any beneficiary designated under the annuity
contract
to receive payments following the payee's death and
any other party that has continuing rights or obligations
under
the contract. For purposes of this chapter, "interested
parties" does not include the structured settlement
obligor or
the annuity issuer.
9. Payee. "Payee" means an individual who is receiving
tax-free damage payments under a structured settlement
and proposes to make a transfer of payment rights under
that settlement.
10. Qualified assignment agreement. "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.
11. Responsible administrative authority. "Responsible
administrative authority" means any government
authority vested by law with exclusive jurisdiction
over the settled claim resolved by a structured settlement.
12. Settled claim. "Settled claim" means the original
tort claim or workers' compensation claim resolved by
a
structured settlement.
13. Structured settlement. "Structured settlement"
means an arrangement for periodic payment of damages
for
personal injuries established by settlement or judgment
in resolution of a tort claim or for periodic payments
in
settlement of a workers' compensation claim.
14. Structured settlement agreement. "Structured settlement
agreement" means the agreement, judgment,
stipulation or release embodying the terms of a structured
settlement, including the rights of the payee to receive
periodic payments.
15. Structured settlement obligor. "Structured settlement
obligor" means the party that has the continuing
periodic payment obligation to the payee under a structured
settlement agreement or a qualified assignment
agreement.
16. Structured settlement payment rights. "Structured
settlement payment rights" means rights to receive
periodic payments, including lump sum payments, under
a structured settlement, whether from the settlement
obligor or the annuity issuer, when:
A. The payee, structured settlement obligor, annuity
issuer or any other interested party is domiciled in
this State;
B. The structured settlement agreement was approved
by a court or responsible administrative authority in
this
State; or
C. The settled claim was pending before the courts
of this State when the parties entered into the structured
settlement agreement.
17. Terms of structured settlement. "Terms of a structured
settlement" means the terms of a structured
settlement agreement, an annuity contract, any qualified
assignment agreement and any order or approval of any
court or responsible administrative authority or other
government authority authorizing or approving t
he structured settlement.
18. Transfer. "Transfer" means any sale, assignment,
pledge, hypothecation or other form of alienation or
encumbrance made by a payee for consideration.
19. Transfer agreement. "Transfer agreement" means
the agreement providing for transfer of structured
settlement payment rights from a payee to a transferee.
20. Transferee. "Transferee" means a person that becomes
entitled to receive structured settlement payment
rights as a result of a transfer agreement.
§ 2242. Notice and registration requirements of transferees
of structured settlements
1. Notice. A transferee of structured settlement payment
rights that intends to do business in this State shall,
prior
to doing business, pay the appropriate fee at the rate
established in section 601 and furnish notice to the
superintendent to:
A. Identify the state in which the transferee is domiciled;
B. Identify the principal place of business of the
group; and
C. Provide such other information as may be required
by the superintendent.
2. Registration. The transferee shall register with
the superintendent and designate an agent solely for
the purpose
of receiving service of legal documents or process.
3. Application of law. Any transferee that was doing
business in this State prior to the effective date of
this chapter
within 30 days after the effective date of this chapter
shall furnish notice to the superintendent pursuant
to the
requirements of subsection 1 and shall comply with the
requirements of subsection 2.
4. Notice of change. A transferee that intends to
do business or is doing business in this State shall
notify the
superintendent within 10 days of any subsequent changes
in any information or other items provided pursuant
to this
section.
Continue to Part 2 >> |