Terms Used In Washington Code > Chapter 6.15 - Personal property exemptions

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
• Automatic location identification: means information about a caller's location that is part of or associated with an enhanced or next generation 911 emergency communications system as defined in this section and RCW 82. See Washington Code 38.52.010
• Automatic number identification: means a method for uniquely associating a communication device that has accessed 911 with the incoming 911 voice or data, or both, and intended for the purpose of display at a public safety answering point. See Washington Code 38.52.010
• 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.
• Baseline: Projection of the receipts, outlays, and other budget amounts that would ensue in the future without any change in existing policy. Baseline projections are used to gauge the extent to which proposed legislation, if enacted into law, would alter current spending and revenue levels.
• 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}
• Broadcaster: means a person or entity that holds a license issued by the federal communications commission under 47 C. See Washington Code 38.52.010
• Catastrophic incident: means any natural or human-caused incident, including terrorism and enemy attack, that results in extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage, or disruption severely affecting the population, infrastructure, environment, economy, or government functions. See Washington Code 38.52.010
• Caucus: From the Algonquian Indian language, a caucus meant "to meet together." An informal organization of members of the legislature that exists to discuss issues of mutual concern and possibly to perform legislative research and policy planning for its members. There are regional, political or ideological, ethnic, and economic-based caucuses.
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• comprehensive emergency management: means the preparation for and the carrying out of all emergency functions, other than functions for which the military forces are primarily responsible, to mitigate, prepare for, respond to, and recover from emergencies and disasters, and to aid victims suffering from injury or damage, resulting from disasters caused by all hazards, whether natural, technological, or human caused, and to provide support for search and rescue operations for persons and property in distress. See Washington Code 38.52.010
• Continuity of government planning: means the internal effort of all levels and branches of government to provide that the capability exists to continue essential functions and services following a catastrophic incident. See Washington Code 38.52.010
• Continuity of operations planning: means the internal effort of an organization to provide that the capability exists to continue essential functions and services in response to a comprehensive array of potential emergencies or disasters. See Washington Code 38.52.010
• 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.
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Department: means the state military department. See Washington Code 38.52.010
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• Director: means the adjutant general. See Washington Code 38.52.010
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Emergency worker: means any person who is registered with a local emergency management organization or the department and holds an identification card issued by the local emergency management director or the department for the purpose of engaging in authorized emergency management activities or is an employee of the state of Washington or any political subdivision thereof who is called upon to perform emergency management activities. See Washington Code 38.52.010
• 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.
• executive heads: means the county executive in those charter counties with an elective office of county executive, however designated, and, in the case of other counties, the county legislative authority. See Washington Code 38.52.010
• Fair market value: The price at which an asset would change hands in a transaction between a willing, informed buyer and a willing, informed seller.
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• 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
• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• 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.
• Incident command system: means : (a) An all-hazards, on-scene functional management system that establishes common standards in organization, terminology, and procedures; provides a means (unified command) for the establishment of a common set of incident objectives and strategies during multiagency/multijurisdiction operations while maintaining individual agency/jurisdiction authority, responsibility, and accountability; and is a component of the national interagency incident management system; or (b) an equivalent and compatible all-hazards, on-scene functional management system. See Washington Code 38.52.010
• 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}
• Injury: as used in this chapter shall mean and include accidental injuries and/or occupational diseases arising out of emergency management activities. See Washington Code 38.52.010
• Inter vivos: Transfer of property from one living person to another living person.
• Intestate: Dying without leaving a will.
• Joint meeting: An occasion, often ceremonial, when the House and Senate each adopt a unanimous consent agreement
• 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}
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Life safety information: means information provided to people during a response to a life-threatening emergency or disaster informing them of actions they can take to preserve their safety. See Washington Code 38.52.010
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• Local director: means the director of a local organization of emergency management or emergency services. See Washington Code 38.52.010
• military: refers to any or all of the armed forces. See Washington Code 38.04.010
• militia: shall mean the military forces provided for in the Constitution and laws of the state of Washington. See Washington Code 38.04.010
• national guard: shall mean that part of the military force of the state that is organized, equipped and federally recognized under the provisions of the national defense act of the United States, and, in the event the national guard is called into federal service or in the event the state guard or any part or individual member thereof is called into active state service by the commander-in-chief, the term shall also include the "Washington state guard" or any temporary organization set up in times of emergency to replace either the "national guard" or "state guard" while in actual service of the United States. See Washington Code 38.04.010
• 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.
• 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: may be construed to include the United States, this state, or any state or territory, or any public or private corporation or limited liability company, as well as an individual. See Washington Code 1.16.080
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Political subdivision: means any county, city or town. See Washington Code 38.52.010
• Precedent: A court decision in an earlier case with facts and law similar to a dispute currently before a court. Precedent will ordinarily govern the decision of a later similar case, unless a party can show that it was wrongly decided or that it differed in some significant way.
• Primary public safety answering point: means a public safety answering point, as designated by the county, to which 911 calls and data originating in a given area and entering the next generation 911 network are initially routed for answering. See Washington Code 38.52.010
• Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
• Public agency: means the state, and a city, county, municipal corporation, district, town, or public authority located, in whole or in part, within this state which provides or may provide firefighting, police, ambulance, medical, or other emergency services. See Washington Code 38.52.010
• Public safety answering point: means the public safety location that receives and answers 911 voice and data originating in a given area as designated by the county. See Washington Code 38.52.010
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• Radio communications service company: means every corporation, company, association, joint stock, partnership, and person, their lessees, trustees, or receivers appointed by any court, and every city or town making available facilities to provide commercial mobile radio services, as defined by 47 U. See Washington Code 38.52.010
• 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.
• Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
• Search and rescue: means the acts of searching for, rescuing, or recovering by means of ground, marine, or air activity any person who becomes lost, injured, or is killed while outdoors or as a result of a natural, technological, or human-caused disaster, including instances involving searches for downed aircraft when ground personnel are used. See Washington Code 38.52.010
• 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.
• sheriff: includes deputies, and "execution docket" refers also to the docket of a district court. See Washington Code 6.01.010
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
• Telecommunications provider: means a telecommunications company as defined in RCW 80. See Washington Code 38.52.010
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• Tort: A civil wrong or breach of a duty to another person, as outlined by law. A very common tort is negligent operation of a motor vehicle that results in property damage and personal injury in an automobile accident.
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• Washington state patrol public safety answering points: means those designated as primary or secondary public safety answering points by the counties in which they provide service. See Washington Code 38.52.010