§ 141.002.Definitions

The longest section in the chapter, and several definitions exist to make the disclosure comparable across offers.

Three money terms do the work of the disclosure provision. "Gross advance amount" is what the payee gets before any reductions for transfer expenses. "Net advance amount" is that figure less the transfer expenses the chapter requires be disclosed. "Transfer expenses" is defined expansively — court filing fees, attorney’s fees, escrow and lien fees, finders’ fees, commissions, and other payments to a broker or intermediary — excluding the payee’s own preexisting obligations.

"Discounted present value" is the honest number, and the definition removes any discretion in producing it: the present value of the future payments discounted using the most recently published Applicable Federal Rate issued by the Internal Revenue Service.

Requiring a published external rate means every offer is measured the same way, so a payee can see what the payments are worth against what they are being offered.

"Interested party" lists five: the payee, any irrevocably designated death beneficiary, the annuity issuer, the structured settlement obligor, and any other party with continuing rights or obligations.

"Dependents" includes a spouse, minor children, and all others the payee is legally obligated to support, including alimony — which matters because the approval finding must take their welfare into account.

"Transfer" is broad — sale, assignment, pledge, hypothecation, or other alienation or encumbrance for consideration — with a carve-out for a blanket security interest granted to an insured depository institution where no step is taken to redirect the payments.

"Court" is the court that approved the settlement, or where it no longer has jurisdiction, a statutory county, statutory probate, or district court where the payee resides.