(i) A savings bank, directly or indirectly, owns or controls either a majority of its voting shares or more than 50% of the number of shares voted for the election of its directors, trustees, or other persons exercising similar functions at the preceding election, or controls in any manner the election of a majority of its directors, trustees, or other persons exercising similar functions. See Michigan Laws 487.3102

Agent: means an agent or attorney in fact acting under a written power of attorney and within the scope of his, her, or its authority. See Michigan Laws 700.2901

Agent: includes , but is not limited to, an attorney-in-fact under a durable or nondurable power of attorney and an individual authorized to make decisions as a patient advocate concerning another's health care. See Michigan Laws 700.1103

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.

Animals: means cattle, horses, sheep, or swine. See Michigan Laws 322.581

annual meeting: when applied to townships, mean the annual meeting required by law to be held on the Saturday immediately preceding the first Monday in April. See Michigan Laws 8.3d

Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.

Appellate: About appeals; an appellate court has the power to review the judgement of another lower court or tribunal.

Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization

Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.

Association: means a federal savings association organized under section 5 of the home owners' loan act, chapter 64, 48 Stat. See Michigan Laws 487.3102

Attorney: means , if appointed to represent a child under the provisions referenced in section 5213, an attorney serving as the child's legal advocate in the manner defined and described in section 13a of chapter XIIA of the probate code of 1939, 1939 PA 288, MCL 712A. See Michigan Laws 700.1103

Authorized individual: means an individual who by section 2959 or by the laws of the United States, including members of the diplomatic and consular service of the United States designated by foreign service regulations, is empowered to supervise the execution of international wills. See Michigan Laws 700.2951

Bank: means a state banking corporation organized or reorganized under the provisions of the banking code of 1999, 1999 PA 276, MCL 487. See Michigan Laws 487.3102

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}

Beneficiary: includes , but is not limited to, the following:

    (i) In relation to a trust, a person that is a trust beneficiary as defined in section 7103. See Michigan Laws 700.1103

Beneficiary designation: means the naming in a governing instrument of a beneficiary of an insurance or annuity policy, of an account with POD designation, of a security registered in beneficiary form (TOD), of a pension, profit-sharing, retirement, or similar benefit plan, or of another nonprobate transfer at death. See Michigan Laws 700.1103

Branch: means a place of business, other than the principal office of a savings bank, at which the savings bank transacts business that may be conducted at its principal office. See Michigan Laws 487.3102

Bureau: means the office of financial and insurance services in the department of consumer and industry services. See Michigan Laws 487.3102

Capital: means the stated par value of issued and outstanding unimpaired common stock and the stated par value of issued and outstanding unimpaired preferred stock. See Michigan Laws 487.3102

Child: includes , but is not limited to, an individual entitled to take as a child under this act by intestate succession from the parent whose relationship is involved. See Michigan Laws 700.1103

Claim: includes , but is not limited to, in respect to a decedent's or protected individual's estate, a liability of the decedent or protected individual, whether arising in contract, tort, or otherwise, and a liability of the estate that arises at or after the decedent's death or after a conservator's appointment, including funeral and burial expenses and costs and expenses of administration. See Michigan Laws 700.1103

Commissioner: means the commissioner of the office of financial and insurance services. See Michigan Laws 487.3102

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.

Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.

Conservator: means a person appointed by a court to manage a protected individual's estate. See Michigan Laws 700.1103

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.

Court: means the probate court or, when applicable, the family division of circuit court. See Michigan Laws 700.1103

Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.

Decedent: A deceased person.

Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.

Department: means the department of natural resources and environment. See Michigan Laws 322.581

Department: means the department of natural resources. See Michigan Laws 324.95151

Depository institution: means a bank, out-of-state bank, national bank, association, savings bank, cooperative bank, industrial bank, or credit union organized under the laws of this state, another state, the District of Columbia, the United States, or a territory or protectorate of the United States. See Michigan Laws 487.3102

Descendant: means , in relation to an individual, all of his or her descendants of all generations, with the relationship of parent and child at each generation being determined by the definitions of child and parent contained in this act. See Michigan Laws 700.1103

Director: means the director of the department of natural resources and environment. See Michigan Laws 322.581

Director: means a director, trustee, or other person holding a similar position with respect to an organization whether incorporated or unincorporated. See Michigan Laws 487.3102

Disclaimable interest: includes , but is not limited to, property, the right to receive or control property, and a power of appointment. See Michigan Laws 700.2901

Donee: The recipient of a gift.

Donor: The person who makes a gift.

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}

Estate: includes the property of the decedent, trust, or other person whose affairs are subject to this act as the property is originally constituted and as it exists throughout administration. See Michigan Laws 700.1104

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.

Executor: A male person named in a will to carry out the decedent

Exempt property: means property of a decedent's estate that is described in section 2404. See Michigan Laws 700.1104

Family allowance: means the allowance prescribed in section 2403. See Michigan Laws 700.1104

Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.

Fiduciary: means a trustee, executor, administrator, guardian, conservator, agent, receiver, trustee in bankruptcy, assignee for creditors, or any holder of a similar position of trust. See Michigan Laws 487.3102

Fiduciary: includes , but is not limited to, an agent, a conservator, a guardian if no conservator has been appointed, a guardian ad litem, a personal representative, a trustee, a probate court acting through a protective order under this act, and a temporary, successor, or foreign fiduciary. See Michigan Laws 700.2901

Fiduciary: includes , but is not limited to, a personal representative, funeral representative, guardian, conservator, trustee, plenary guardian, partial guardian, and successor fiduciary. See Michigan Laws 700.1104

Fiduciary power: means a management power relating to the administration or management of assets similar to those powers granted to a personal representative in section 3715 and a trustee in section 7816 and 7817, and granted by law to a fiduciary or conferred upon a fiduciary in a governing instrument. See Michigan Laws 700.2901

Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.

Foreclosure: A legal process in which property that is collateral or security for a loan may be sold to help repay the loan when the loan is in default. ^{Source: OCC}

Funeral representative: means an individual designated to have the right and power to make decisions about funeral arrangements and the handling, disposition, or disinterment of a decedent's body, including, but not limited to, decisions about cremation, and the right to possess cremated remains of the decedent as provided in section 3206. See Michigan Laws 700.1104

Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.

governing body: shall be construed to mean, in the case of a county, the board of supervisors; in the case of a city, the council, common council, commission or other body having legislative powers; in the case of a village, the council, common council, commission, board of trustees or other body having legislative powers; in the case of a township, the township board; in the case of a metropolitan district, the legislative body of the district; and in the case of an authority, the body in which is lodged general governing powers. See Michigan Laws 323.101

Governing instrument: means a deed, assignment, bill of sale, will, trust, beneficiary designation, contract, instrument creating or exercising a power of appointment or a power of attorney, or another instrument under which property devolves, a property right is created, or a contract right is created. See Michigan Laws 700.2901

Governing instrument: means a deed; will; trust; funeral representative designation; insurance or annuity policy; account with POD designation; security registered in beneficiary form (TOD); pension, profit-sharing, retirement, or similar benefit plan; instrument creating or exercising a power of appointment or a power of attorney; or dispositive, appointive, or nominative instrument of any similar type. See Michigan Laws 700.1104

Gross estate: The total fair market value of all property and property interests, real and personal, tangible and intangible, of which a decedent had beneficial ownership at the time of death before subtractions for deductions, debts, administrative expenses, and casualty losses suffered during estate administration.

Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.

Guardian: means a person who has qualified as a guardian of a minor or a legally incapacitated individual under a parental or spousal nomination or a court appointment and includes a limited guardian as described in sections 5205, 5206, and 5306. See Michigan Laws 700.1104

Heir: means , except as controlled by section 2720, a person, including the surviving spouse or the state, that is entitled under the statutes of intestate succession to a decedent's property. See Michigan Laws 700.1104

Homestead allowance: means the allowance prescribed in section 2402. See Michigan Laws 700.1104

in writing: shall be construed to include printing, engraving, and lithographing; except that if the written signature of a person is required by law, the signature shall be the proper handwriting of the person or, if the person is unable to write, the person's proper mark, which may be, unless otherwise expressly prohibited by law, a clear and classifiable fingerprint of the person made with ink or another substance. See Michigan Laws 8.3q

Indictment: The formal charge issued by a grand jury stating that there is enough evidence that the defendant committed the crime to justify having a trial; it is used primarily for felonies.

Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.

International will: means a will executed in conformity with this part. See Michigan Laws 700.2951

Intestate: Dying without leaving a will.

Iran: means any agency or instrumentality of Iran. See Michigan Laws 129.312

Joint property: means property that is owned by 2 or more persons with rights of survivorship, and includes a tenancy by the entireties in real property, a tenancy in personal property as provided in section 1 of 1927 PA 212, MCL 557. See Michigan Laws 700.2901

Joint tenancy: A form of property ownership in which two or more parties hold an undivided interest in the same property that was conveyed under the same instrument at the same time. A joint tenant can sell his (her) interest but not dispose of it by will. Upon the death of a joint tenant, his (her) undivided interest is distributed among the surviving joint tenants.

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 estate: A property interest limited in duration to the life of the individual holding the interest (life tenant).

Livestock: means those species of animals used for human food or fiber or those species of animals used for service to humans. See Michigan Laws 324.95151

Marital deduction: The deduction(s) that can be taken in the determination of gift and estate tax liabilities because of the existence of a marriage or marital relationship.

Money: means legal tender or a note, draft, certificate of deposit, stock, bond, check, or credit card. See Michigan Laws 700.1106

month: means a calendar month; the word "year" a calendar year; and the word "year" alone shall be equivalent to the words "year of our Lord". See Michigan Laws 8.3j

Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.

Mortgagor: The person who pledges property to a creditor as collateral for a loan and who receives the money.

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.

Oral argument: An opportunity for lawyers to summarize their position before the court and also to answer the judges' questions.

Out-of-state bank: means a banking corporation or savings bank organized under the laws of another state, the District of Columbia, or a territory of the United States whose principal office is located in a state other than this state, the District of Columbia, a territory or a protectorate of the United States, and whose deposits are insured by the federal deposit insurance corporation. See Michigan Laws 487.3103

Payor: means a trustee, insurer, business entity, employer, government, governmental subdivision or agency, or other person authorized or obligated by law or a governing instrument to make payments. See Michigan Laws 700.1106

Person: means an individual, corporation, limited liability company, governmental entity, partnership, limited liability partnership, or other legal entity. See Michigan Laws 487.3103

Person: includes an entity and an individual, but does not include a fiduciary, an estate, or a trust. See Michigan Laws 700.2901

Person: means an individual or an organization. See Michigan Laws 700.1106

person: may extend and be applied to bodies politic and corporate, as well as to individuals. See Michigan Laws 8.3l

Personal property: All property that is not real property.

Personal representative: includes , but is not limited to, an executor, administrator, successor personal representative, and special personal representative, and any other person, other than a trustee of a trust subject to article VII, who performs substantially the same function under the law governing that person's status. See Michigan Laws 700.1106

Petition: means a written request to the court for an order after notice. See Michigan Laws 700.1106

Power of appointment: means that term as defined in section 2 of the powers of appointment act of 1967, 1967 PA 224, MCL 556. See Michigan Laws 700.1106

Power of attorney: A written instrument which authorizes one person to act as another's agent or attorney. The power of attorney may be for a definite, specific act, or it may be general in nature. The terms of the written power of attorney may specify when it will expire. If not, the power of attorney usually expires when the person granting it dies. ^{Source: OCC}

Probate: Proving a will

Proceeding: includes an application and a petition, and may be an action at law or a suit in equity. See Michigan Laws 700.1106

Property: means anything that may be the subject of ownership. See Michigan Laws 700.2901

Property: means anything that may be the subject of ownership, and includes both real and personal property or an interest in real or personal property. See Michigan Laws 700.1106

public corporation: shall be construed to mean any county, city, village, township or metropolitan district, of the state of Michigan, or any authority created by or pursuant to an act of the legislature. See Michigan Laws 323.101

Public law: A public bill or joint resolution that has passed both chambers and been enacted into law. Public laws have general applicability nationwide.

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.

Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.

Right of survivorship: The ownership rights that result in the acquisition of title to property by reason of having survived other co-owners.

Savings bank: means a state banking corporation organized or reorganized under this act. See Michigan Laws 487.3103

Security: includes , but is not limited to, a note, stock, treasury stock, bond, debenture, evidence of indebtedness, certificate of interest or participation in an oil, gas, or mining title or lease or in payments out of production under such a title or lease, collateral trust certificate, transferable share, voting trust certificate, or interest in a regulated investment company or other entity generally referred to as a mutual fund or, in general, an interest or instrument commonly known as a security, or a certificate of interest or participation for, a temporary or interim certificate, receipt, or certificate of deposit for, or any warrant or right to subscribe to or purchase any of the items listed in this subdivision. See Michigan Laws 700.1107

Service entity: means a stock corporation, mutual company, limited liability company, limited liability partnership, or limited partnership in which a savings bank has invested under section 410. See Michigan Laws 487.3103

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.

Settlement: means , in reference to a decedent's estate, the full process of administration, distribution, and closing. See Michigan Laws 700.1107

Shareholder: means the registered owner of any share or shares of capital stock of a savings bank. See Michigan Laws 487.3103

State: means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or a territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. See Michigan Laws 700.1107

state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, shall be construed to extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories belonging to the United States; and the words "United States" shall be construed to include the district and territories. See Michigan Laws 8.3o

Statute: A law passed by a legislature.

Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.

Subsidiary: means a corporation, mutual company, limited liability company, limited liability partnership, or limited partnership, the controlling interests of which are more than 50% owned by 1 or more federally insured depository institutions, and in which a savings bank has an ownership interest, membership interest, or other legally enforceable interest which has the indicia of ownership. See Michigan Laws 487.3103

Successor: means a person, other than a creditor, who is entitled to property of a decedent under the decedent's will or this act. See Michigan Laws 700.1107

Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.

Survive: means that an individual neither predeceases an event, including the death of another individual, nor is considered to predecease an event under section 2104 or 2702. See Michigan Laws 700.1107

Testate: To die leaving a will.

Testator: A male person who leaves a will at death.

Testator: includes an individual of either gender. See Michigan Laws 700.1107

Testify: Answer questions in court.

Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.

Trust: means a fiduciary relationship with respect to property that subjects the person who holds title to the property to equitable duties to deal with the property for the benefit of another person, which fiduciary relationship arises as a result of a manifestation of an intention to create it. See Michigan Laws 700.2901

Trust: includes , but is not limited to, an express trust, private or charitable, with additions to the trust, wherever and however created. See Michigan Laws 700.1107

Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.

Trustee: includes an original, additional, or successor trustee, whether or not appointed or confirmed by the court. See Michigan Laws 700.1107

United States: shall be construed to include the district and territories. See Michigan Laws 8.3o

Value: means the present worth of all rights to future benefits arising from ownership. See Michigan Laws 487.3103