Terms Used In New York Laws > Insurance > Article 45 - Fraternal Benefit Societies

• 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.
• Affirmed: In the practice of the appellate courts, the decree or order is declared valid and will stand as rendered in the lower court.
• 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.
• Appellate: About appeals; an appellate court has the power to review the judgement of another lower court or tribunal.
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• 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}
• Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
• 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.
• Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
• delinquent tax: include any unpaid tax or other charge against lands owned by the state. See N.Y. Real Property Tax Law 1102
• Enforcing officer: means any elected or appointed officer of any tax district empowered or charged by law to enforce the collection of tax liens on real property; provided, however, that (a) where no law provides otherwise, the enforcing officer shall be (i) in a county which is a tax district, the county treasurer or commissioner of finance, (ii) in a city which is a tax district, the official so empowered or charged by the city charter, (iii) in a village which is a tax district, the village treasurer, and (iv) in a town which is a tax district, the town supervisor; and (b) when the duties and powers of an "enforcing officer" are vested in two or more elected or appointed officials, the governing body of the tax district shall designate which of such officials shall act as enforcing officer for the purposes set forth in this article. See N.Y. Real Property Tax Law 1102
• 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.
• 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}
• 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}
• Interest rate: The amount paid by a borrower to a lender in exchange for the use of the lender's money for a certain period of time. Interest is paid on loans or on debt instruments, such as notes or bonds, either at regular intervals or as part of a lump sum payment when the issue matures. ^{Source: OCC}
• 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}
• legal charges: means :
  
  (a) the cost of the mailing or service of notices required or authorized by this article;
  
  (b) the cost of publication of notices required or authorized by this title;
  
  (c) the amount of any interest and penalties imposed by law;
  
  (d) the cost of recording or filing legal documents required or authorized by this article; and
  
  (e) the reasonable and necessary cost of any search of the public record required or authorized to satisfy the notice requirements of this article, and the reasonable and necessary expenses for legal services of a tax district in connection with a proceeding to foreclose a tax lien; provided, that: (i) a charge of up to one hundred fifty dollars per parcel shall be deemed reasonable and necessary to cover the combined costs of such searches and legal expenses, and such an amount may be charged without substantiation, even if salaried employees of the tax district performed the search or legal services; and (ii) a tax district may charge a greater amount with respect to one or more parcels upon demonstration to the satisfaction of the court having jurisdiction that such greater amount was reasonable and necessary. See N.Y. Real Property Tax Law 1102
• 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.
• Lien date: means the date on which the tax or other legal charges represented thereby became a lien, as provided by section nine hundred two of this chapter or such other general, special or local law as may be applicable, provided, that when the taxes of a school district are enforced by a tax district without being relevied by the tax district, and the lien date of the school district taxes differs from the lien date of the taxes of the tax district which are levied upon the same assessment roll, the later of the two such dates shall be deemed to be the lien date for purposes of this article. See N.Y. Real Property Tax Law 1102
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• Mortgagee: The person to whom property is mortgaged and who has loaned the money.
• Mortgagor: The person who pledges property to a creditor as collateral for a loan and who receives the money.
• Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
• 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.
• Outlays: Outlays are payments made (generally through the issuance of checks or disbursement of cash) to liquidate obligations. Outlays during a fiscal year may be for payment of obligations incurred in prior years or in the same year.
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• 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, a corporation (including a foreign corporation and a municipal corporation), a joint stock association, a partnership, the state, and any other organization, state, government or county which may lawfully own property in the state. See N.Y. Real Property Tax Law 1102
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Probate: Proving a will
• 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.
• 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.
• Tax district: means : (a) a county, other than (i) a county for which the cities and towns enforce delinquent taxes pursuant to the county administrative code, or (ii) a county wholly contained within a city;
  
  (b) a city, other than a city for which the county enforces delinquent taxes pursuant to the city charter;
  
  (c) a village, other than a village for which the county enforces delinquent taxes pursuant to section fourteen hundred forty-two of this chapter; or
  
  (d) a town in a county in which towns enforce delinquent taxes pursuant to the county administrative code. See N.Y. Real Property Tax Law 1102
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Transcript: A written, word-for-word record of what was said, either in a proceeding such as a trial or during some other conversation, as in a transcript of a hearing or oral deposition.
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.