Terms Used In Arizona Laws > Title 20 > Chapter 4 > Article 4 - Fraternal Benefit Societies

• Action: includes any matter or proceeding in a court, civil or criminal. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Adult: means a person who has attained eighteen years of age. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
• Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
• 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.
• Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Association or order: means any association or order that is a nonprofit military mutual aid association, whose members are officers or enlisted, regular or reserve, active, retired or honorably discharged members of the armed forces or sea services of the United States, and whose principal purpose is to provide life insurance and annuities to its members and their dependents or beneficiaries. See Arizona Laws 20-861
• Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
• 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}
• Benefit contract: means an agreement for the provision of benefits. See Arizona Laws 20-861
• Benefit member: means an adult who is a member of a fraternal benefit society and who is designated by the laws or rules of the society to be a benefit member under a benefit contract. See Arizona Laws 20-861
• Certificate: means a document that is issued as written evidence of the benefit contract. See Arizona Laws 20-861
• Charity: An agency, institution, or organization in existence and operating for the benefit of an indefinite number of persons and conducted for educational, religious, scientific, medical, or other beneficent purposes.
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• 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.
• department: means the department of insurance and financial institutions. See Arizona Laws 20-101
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. ^{Source: U.S. Courts}
• 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.
• Fraternal benefit society: means a society, order or supreme lodge without capital stock, including an incorporated or unincorporated society that is exempt under section 20-893, that is conducted solely for the benefit of its members and their beneficiaries, is not for profit, operates on a lodge system with a ritualistic form of work, has a representative form of government and provides benefits according to this article. See Arizona Laws 20-861
• Garnishment: Generally, garnishment is a court proceeding in which a creditor asks a court to order a third party who owes money to the debtor or otherwise holds assets belonging to the debtor to turn over to the creditor any of the debtor
• Grace period: The number of days you'll have to pay your bill for purchases in full without triggering a finance charge. ^{Source: Federal Reserve}
• including: means not limited to and is not a term of exclusion. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Indemnification: In general, a collateral contract or assurance under which one person agrees to secure another person against either anticipated financial losses or potential adverse legal consequences. ^{Source: FDIC}
• Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
• 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.
• Laws: means the articles of incorporation, constitution and bylaws of the society. See Arizona Laws 20-861
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• Lodge: means a subordinate member of the society, including any camp, court, council, branch or other designated unit. See Arizona Laws 20-861
• Month: means a calendar month unless otherwise expressed. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Person: includes a corporation, company, partnership, firm, association or society, as well as a natural person. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Plea: In a criminal case, the defendant's statement pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" in answer to the charges, a declaration made in open court.
• Premiums: means rates, dues or other required contributions that are payable under the certificate. See Arizona Laws 20-861
• Process: means a citation, writ or summons issued in the course of judicial proceedings. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Property: includes both real and personal property. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• Rules: means the rules, regulations and resolutions that are adopted by the supreme governing body or board of directors and that are intended to apply to the members of the society. See Arizona Laws 20-861
• sent: means to deliver by United States mail, personal delivery or fax or by electronic means consistent with the requirements of section 20-239. See Arizona Laws 20-117
• 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.
• Society: means a fraternal benefit society. See Arizona Laws 20-861
• United States: includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Wilfully: means , with respect to conduct or to a circumstance described by a statute defining an offense, that a person is aware or believes that the person's conduct is of that nature or that the circumstance exists. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Writing: includes printing. See Arizona Laws 1-215