Michigan Laws > Chapter 490 > Act 215 of 2003 > Article 3 – Domestic Credit Union Organization and Structure


Part 1	Formation and Operation
Part 2	Dissolution
Part 3	Officer, Officials, and Directors
Part 4	Members
Part 5	Capital
Part 6	Merger, Consolidation, Conversion
Part 7	Administration

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Terms Used In Michigan Laws > Chapter 490 > Act 215 of 2003 > Article 3 - Domestic Credit Union Organization and Structure

Adjourn: A motion to adjourn a legislative chamber or a committee, if passed, ends that day's session.
Advice and consent: Under the Constitution, presidential nominations for executive and judicial posts take effect only when confirmed by the Senate, and international treaties become effective only when the Senate approves them by a two-thirds vote.
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.
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
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.
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.
Appraisal: A determination of property value.
Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
Associate board member: means an individual appointed by a credit union board to the position described in section 342(10). See Michigan Laws 490.102
Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
Bank: means a bank that is organized under the laws of this state, any other state, the District of Columbia, or a territory or protectorate of the United States, or a national banking association chartered by the federal government under the national bank act, 12 USC 21 to 216d, and whose deposits are insured by an agency of the federal government. See Michigan Laws 490.102
Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
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}
Board member: means a member of a board of directors, board of trustees, or similar governing body of an organization. See Michigan Laws 490.102
Borrower: means a member who obtains a loan from a credit union. See Michigan Laws 490.102
Branch: means , except as otherwise provided in this subdivision, an office or other place of business at which a credit union receives deposits, pays checks, or lends money. See Michigan Laws 490.102
Cemetery: means 1, or a combination of more than 1, of the following:

(i) A burial ground for earth interments. See Michigan Laws 328.213

Cemetery burial vault or other outside container: means a box or container used solely at the place of interment to permanently surround or enclose a casket and to support the earth above the casket after burial. See Michigan Laws 328.213

Cemetery services: means cremations, grave openings and closings, and installation of grave memorials. See Michigan Laws 328.213

Commissioner: means the director. See Michigan Laws 490.102

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.

Contract beneficiary: means an individual specified or implied in a prepaid contract for whom the funeral or cemetery services or merchandise shall be performed or furnished after death. See Michigan Laws 328.213

Contract buyer: means an individual, including a contract beneficiary, who purchases merchandise or funeral or cemetery services pursuant to a prepaid contract. See Michigan Laws 328.213

Contract seller: means a person who sells, makes available, or provides prepaid contracts. See Michigan Laws 328.213

Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.

Corporate credit union: means a credit union whose field of membership consists primarily of other credit unions. See Michigan Laws 490.102

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.

County drain: means any drain, irrespective of size, carrying drainage water or sewage or both originating in 1 county, and includes drains located, established and constructed by a county drain commissioner or drainage board, by a city, village or township. See Michigan Laws 280.461

county drain commissioner: means the elected county drain commissioner or the person or persons designated to perform the duties of the elected county drain commissioner as provided in section 21 and 21a. See Michigan Laws 280.4

Credit union: means a domestic or foreign credit union. See Michigan Laws 490.102

Credit union board: means a board of directors, board of trustees, or other governing body of a credit union. See Michigan Laws 490.102

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 labor. See Michigan Laws 125.2502

Department: means the department of labor and economic growth. See Michigan Laws 328.213

Department: means the department of insurance and financial services. See Michigan Laws 490.102

Director: means the director of labor or his or her designee. See Michigan Laws 125.2502

Director: means the director of the department. See Michigan Laws 490.102

Domestic credit union: means a cooperative, nonprofit entity organized under this act for the purposes of encouraging thrift among its members, providing a variety of financial services to its members, and providing an opportunity for its members to use and control their own money on a democratic basis in order to improve their economic and social condition. See Michigan Laws 490.102

drain: whenever used in this act , shall include the main stream or trunk and all tributaries or branches of any creek or river, any watercourse or ditch, either open or closed, any covered drain, any sanitary or any combined sanitary and storm sewer or storm sewer or conduit composed of tile, brick, concrete, or other material, any structures or mechanical devices, that will properly purify the flow of such drains, any pumping equipment necessary to assist or relieve the flow of such drains and any levee, dike, barrier, or a combination of any or all of same constructed, or proposed to be constructed, for the purpose of drainage or for the purification of the flow of such drains, but shall not include any dam and flowage rights used in connection therewith which is used for the generation of power by a public utility subject to regulation by the public service commission. See Michigan Laws 280.3

Eligibility record date: means a record date that is 1 year or more before the adoption of a plan of conversion by a credit union board and is set forth in a plan of conversion for determining eligible members of a converting credit union. See Michigan Laws 490.102

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}

Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.

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.

Ex officio: Literally, by virtue of one's office.

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

Federal credit union: means a credit union that is organized under the laws of the United States. See Michigan Laws 490.102

Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.

Field of membership: means that term as established under section 352. See Michigan Laws 490.102

Financial institution: means a credit union, bank, savings bank, or savings and loan association. See Michigan Laws 490.102

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.

Foreign credit union: means a credit union organized under the laws of another state or territory of the United States or a federal credit union. See Michigan Laws 490.102

Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.

Funds: means all money or other consideration actually received from a contract buyer by a contract seller or provider or an assignee from the contract buyer in connection with any aspect of the sale of a prepaid contract, including finance charges, but does not include late payment penalties, payments required to be made to a governmental agency at the time the contract is entered into, or a commission authorized by section 12(1). See Michigan Laws 328.214

Grave memorial: means a stone or other structure or item used for the purpose of memorializing a decedent and placed on or in proximity to a place of burial, interment, or entombment of a casket, catafalque, or vault or on or in proximity to a place of inurnment. See Michigan Laws 328.214

Guaranteed price contract: means a prepaid contract under which funds received are held pursuant to an escrow agreement. See Michigan Laws 328.214

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.

Heating cable: means cable designed to be secured to pipes and vessels to reduce their likelihood of freezing or to facilitate the flow of viscous liquids. See Michigan Laws 125.2502

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

Income: means the money earned by the investment of the principal, including, but not limited to, interest, dividends, and gains or losses on the sale of, deposit of, or exchange of, property using invested principal amounts. See Michigan Laws 328.214

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.

Insolvent: means a credit union that meets either of the following:

(i) It is not able to pay its debts and other obligations, including those related to member shares, as they become due. See Michigan Laws 490.102

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.

Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). ^{Source: OCC}

Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.

Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.

Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.

Membership share: means a share of a domestic credit union equal in amount to the par value of the credit union's shares that is credited to an account of a member by the credit union, is required as a condition of membership in the credit union, and is subject to any withdrawal restriction or other standards established by the domestic credit union for membership shares. See Michigan Laws 490.103

merchandise: means both of the following:

(i) Cemetery burial vaults or other outside containers, grave memorials, and urns. See Michigan Laws 328.214

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

Mutual savings bank: means a savings bank that is not authorized by its articles of incorporation to issue capital stock. See Michigan Laws 490.103

Net worth: means the sum of a credit union's undivided earnings and reserves. See Michigan Laws 490.103

Nolo contendere: No contest-has the same effect as a plea of guilty, as far as the criminal sentence is concerned, but may not be considered as an admission of guilt for any other purpose.

Nonguaranteed price contract: means a prepaid contract under which funds received are held pursuant to an escrow agreement between a contract seller or provider and a contract buyer and are applied to the cost of the merchandise or funeral or cemetery services, which merchandise or funeral or cemetery services may be selected by the contract buyer at the time the contract is signed or as selected by a person legally authorized to procure merchandise or funeral or cemetery services at the time of death of the contract beneficiary. See Michigan Laws 328.215

Oath: A promise to tell the truth.

oath: shall be construed to include the word "affirmation" in all cases where by law an affirmation may be substituted for an oath; and in like cases the word "sworn" shall be construed to include the word "affirmed". See Michigan Laws 8.3k

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.

Officer: means the chairperson of the board, the vice-chairperson of the board, the secretary, the treasurer, the general manager, an individual whose title is "president" an assistant treasurer, or an assistant secretary of a credit union, or any other individual who is specifically designated as an officer of a credit union by the credit union board. See Michigan Laws 490.103

Official: means a member of a credit union board or an officer, member of a credit committee or supervisory committee, or member of any other committee performing functions similar to a credit committee or supervisory committee, of a credit union. See Michigan Laws 490.103

Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.

Person: means an individual, partnership, corporation, association, or other legal entity. See Michigan Laws 125.2502

Person: means an individual, group of individuals, sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company, association, corporation, government agency, cemetery, or a combination of these legal entities. See Michigan Laws 328.215

Person: means an individual, corporation, partnership, limited liability company, association, governmental entity, or any other legal entity. See Michigan Laws 490.103

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.

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.

Prepaid contract: means a contract requiring payment in advance for funeral or cemetery services or merchandise, physical delivery and retention of which would occur after death under a guaranteed price contract or a nonguaranteed price contract. See Michigan Laws 328.215

Principal: means the money or other consideration actually deposited in the escrow or trust accounts required by this act. See Michigan Laws 328.215

Principal place of business: means the place where a domestic credit union keeps its principal records. See Michigan Laws 490.103

Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.

Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.

Provider: means any person who furnishes or agrees to furnish merchandise or funeral or cemetery services pursuant to a prepaid contract, whether or not that person is the contract seller. See Michigan Laws 328.215

Public corporation: includes this state, counties, cities, villages, townships, metropolitan districts and authorities created by or pursuant to state statutes. See Michigan Laws 280.461

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.

Registrant: means a person who has registered with the department pursuant to section 6. See Michigan Laws 328.215

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.

Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.

Savings and loan association: means a savings association that is organized under the laws of this state, a savings and loan association, building and loan association, or homestead association that is organized under the laws of any other state, the District of Columbia, or a territory or protectorate of the United States, or a federal savings association organized under the home owners' loan act, 12 USC 1461 to 1470, and whose deposits are insured by an agency of the federal government. See Michigan Laws 490.103

Savings bank: means a savings bank that is organized under the laws of this state, any other state, the District of Columbia, a territory or protectorate of the United States, or of the United States, and whose deposits are insured by an agency of the federal government. See Michigan Laws 490.103

seal: shall be construed to include any of the following:

(a) The impression of the seal on the paper alone. See Michigan Laws 8.3n

Senior management employee: means any individual who is designated as a senior policy-making employee of a credit union by the board of the credit union. See Michigan Laws 490.103

Service center: means a place of business of a credit union, other than the principal place of business or a branch, where the credit union may transact business authorized by the credit union board. See Michigan Laws 490.103

Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.

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.

State: means this state. See Michigan Laws 280.461

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.

Stock savings and loan association: means a savings and loan association that is authorized by its articles of incorporation to issue capital stock. See Michigan Laws 490.103

Stock savings bank: means a savings bank that is authorized by its articles of incorporation to issue capital stock. See Michigan Laws 490.103

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

Temporary restraining order: Prohibits a person from an action that is likely to cause irreparable harm. This differs from an injunction in that it may be granted immediately, without notice to the opposing party, and without a hearing. It is intended to last only until a hearing can be held.

Testify: Answer questions in court.

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

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

Urn: means a container used to preserve the ashes of a dead human body. See Michigan Laws 328.215