West Virginia Code 16-48-3 – Definitions
(a) “ABLE Act” means the federal legislation codified in Section 529A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 26 U.S.C. § 529A, and related treasury regulations, as amended from time to time. Any references in this article to Section 529A include related treasury regulations.
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 16-48-3
- 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
- Commissioner: means the commissioner of the bureau, who may be designated as the state health officer. See West Virginia Code 16-1-2
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- 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.
- 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
- Secretary: means the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Resources: Provided, That beginning January 1, 2024, as used in this chapter, "secretary" means the secretary of the Department of Health. See West Virginia Code 16-1-2
- State: when applied to a part of the United States and not restricted by the context, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" also include the said district and territories. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
(b) “Account” or “ABLE savings account” means an individual savings account established in accordance with the provisions of this article.
(c) “Account owner” means designated beneficiary, as defined in the ABLE Act.
(d) “Attorney in fact” means a person named in a power of attorney with the authority to open and manage an account.
(e) “Conservator” means a person appointed by the court pursuant to Chapter 44A of this code.
(f) “Designated beneficiary” means a West Virginia resident who owns the account and who was an eligible individual when the account was established or who succeeded the former designated beneficiary.
(g) “Eligible individual” means an individual who is entitled to benefits based on blindness or disability under 42 U.S.C. § 401 et seq. or 42 U.S.C. § 1381 et seq., as amended, and such blindness or disability occurred before the date on which the individual attained the age specified in the ABLE Act, or an individual who filed a disability certification, to the satisfaction of the secretary, with the secretary for such taxable year.
(h) “Financial organization” means an organization authorized to do business in the State of West Virginia and that is:
(1) Licensed or chartered by the Insurance Commissioner;
(2) Licensed or chartered by the Commissioner of the Division of Financial Institutions;
(3) Chartered by an agency of the federal government; or
(4) Subject to the jurisdiction and regulation of the securities and exchange commission of the federal government.
(i) “Guardian” means a person appointed by the court pursuant to Chapter 44A of this code.
(j) “Management contract” means the contract executed by the Treasurer and a financial organization selected to act as a depository and manager of the program.
(k) “Member of the family” has the meaning contained in the ABLE Act.
(l) “Nonqualified withdrawal” means a withdrawal from an account which is not:
(1) A qualified withdrawal; or
(2) A rollover distribution.
(m) “Program” means the West Virginia ABLE Act savings program established pursuant to this article.
(n) “Program manager” means a financial organization selected by the Treasurer to act as a depository and manager of the program.
(o) “Qualified disability expense” means any qualified disability expense included in the ABLE Act.
(p) “Qualified withdrawal” means a withdrawal from an account to pay the qualified disability expenses of the designated beneficiary of the account.
(q) “Rollover distribution” means a rollover distribution as defined in the ABLE Act.
(r) “Savings agreement” means an agreement between the program manager or the Treasurer and the account owner.
(s) “Signature authority” means the authority of the designated beneficiary or of a person on behalf of a designated beneficiary in accordance with the ABLE Act to establish and manage an ABLE account.
(t) “Secretary” means the secretary of the United States Treasury.
(u) “Treasurer” means the West Virginia State Treasurer or his or her designee.