2007 Minnesota Statutes

549.30 DEFINITIONS.
    Subdivision 1. Application. For purposes of sections 549.30 to 549.34, the terms defined in
this section have the meanings given them.
    Subd. 2. Annuity issuer. "Annuity issuer" means an insurer that has issued an annuity
contract to be used to fund periodic payments under a structured settlement.
    Subd. 3. Applicable law. "Applicable law" means: (1) the laws of the United States; (2) the
laws of this state, including principles of equity applied in the courts of this state; and (3) the
laws of any other jurisdiction: (i) which is the domicile of the payee or any other interested party;
(ii) under whose laws a structured settlement agreement was approved by a court or responsible
administrative authority; or (iii) in whose courts a settled claim was pending when the parties
entered into a structured settlement agreement.
    Subd. 4. 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 spousal maintenance.
    Subd. 5. Discounted present value. "Discounted present value" means, with respect to
a proposed transfer of structured settlement payment rights, the fair present value of future
payments, as 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.
    Subd. 6. Independent professional advice. "Independent professional advice" means advice
of an attorney, certified public accountant, actuary, or other professional adviser: (1) who is
engaged by a payee to render advice concerning the legal, tax, and financial implications of a
transfer of structured settlement payment rights; (2) who is not in any manner affiliated with or
compensated by the transferee of the transfer; and (3) whose compensation for providing the
advice is not affected by whether a transfer occurs or does not occur.
    Subd. 7. Interested parties. "Interested parties" means the payee, a beneficiary designated
under the annuity contract to receive payments following the payee's death or, if the designated
beneficiary is a minor, the designated beneficiary's parent or guardian, the annuity issuer, the
structured settlement obligor, and any other party that has continuing rights or obligations under
the structured settlement.
    Subd. 8. 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 the
structured settlement.
    Subd. 9. Qualified assignment agreement. "Qualified assignment agreement" means an
agreement providing for a qualified assignment as provided by the United States Internal Revenue
Code, title 26, section 130, as amended through December 31, 1998.
    Subd. 10. Responsible administrative authority. "Responsible administrative authority"
means a government authority vested by law with exclusive jurisdiction over the settled claim
resolved by the structured settlement.
    Subd. 11. Settled claim. "Settled claim" means the original tort claim or workers'
compensation claim resolved by a structured settlement.
    Subd. 12. 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.
    Subd. 13. 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.
    Subd. 14. 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.
    Subd. 15. 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, where: (1) the payee
or any other interested party is domiciled in the state; (2) the structured settlement agreement
was approved by a court or responsible administrative authority in the state; or (3) the settled
claim was pending before the courts of this state when the parties entered into the structured
settlement agreement.
    Subd. 16. Terms of the structured settlement. "Terms of the structured settlement" means
the terms of the structured settlement agreement, the annuity contract, a qualified assignment
agreement, and an order or approval of a court, responsible administrative authority, or other
government authority authorizing or approving the structured settlement.
    Subd. 17. Transfer. "Transfer" means a sale, assignment, pledge, hypothecation, or other
form of alienation or encumbrance made by a payee for consideration.
    Subd. 18. Transfer agreement. "Transfer agreement" means the agreement providing for
transfer of structured settlement payment rights from a payee to a transferee.
    Subd. 19. Transferee. "Transferee" means a person who is receiving or will receive
structured settlement payment rights resulting from a transfer.
History: 1999 c 212 s 2