Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-18-2602 (2026)

As used in this part, unless the context otherwise requires:

• (1) "Annuity insurer" means an insurer that has issued an insurance policy or annuity contract used to fund periodic payments under a structured settlement;

• (2) "Applicable law" means state or federal statutes of the United States;

• (3) "Dependents" includes a payee's spouse and minor children and all other family members and other persons for whom the payee is legally obligated to provide support, including alimony;

• (4) "Discounted present value" means the present value of future payments, as determined by discounting such payments to the present using the most recently published applicable federal rate for determining the present value of an annuity, as issued by the internal revenue service, and the present value of the payments to be transferred by the payee using the actual discount rate applied to the transfer, stated as an annual percentage rate;

• (5) "Independent professional advice" means advice of an attorney, certified public accountant, actuary or other licensed professional adviser;

• (6) "Interested parties" means, with respect to any structured settlement, the payee, the annuity issuer, the structured settlement obligor, and any other party to the structured settlement that has continuing rights or obligations to receive or make payments under such structured settlement;

• (7) "Payee" means an individual who is receiving tax-free damage payments under a structured settlement and proposes to make a transfer of payment rights thereunder;

• (8) "Qualified assignment agreement" means an agreement providing for a qualified assignment within the meaning of 26 U.S.C. § 130, as amended from time to time;

• (9) "Responsible administrative authority" means, with respect to a structured settlement, any government authority vested by law with exclusive jurisdiction over the settled claim resolved by such structured settlement;

• (10) "Settled claim" means the original tort claim;

• (11) "Structured settlement" means an arrangement for periodic payment of damages for personal injuries established by settlement or judgment in resolution of a tort claim;

• (12) "Structured settlement agreement" means the agreement, judgment, stipulation, or release embodying the terms of a structured settlement, including the rights of the payee to receive periodic payments;

• (13) "Structured settlement obligor" means, with respect to any structured settlement, the party that has the continuing periodic payment obligation to the payee under a structured settlement agreement or a qualified assignment agreement;

• (14) "Structured settlement payment rights" means rights to receive periodic payments (including lump sum payments) under a structured settlement, whether from the settlement obligor or the annuity issuer where:
  • (A) The payee is domiciled in this state;
  • (B) The structured settlement agreement was approved by a court or responsible administrative authority in this state; or
  • (C) The structured settlement agreement is governed by the laws of this state;

• (15) "Terms of the structured settlement" includes, with respect to any structured settlement, the terms of the structured settlement agreement, the annuity contract, any qualified assignment agreement and any order or approval of any court or responsible administrative authority or other government authority authorizing or approving such structured settlement;

• (16) "Transfer" means any sale, assignment, pledge, hypothecation, commutation, advance or other form of alienation or encumbrance made by a payee for consideration; and

• (17) "Transfer agreement" means the agreement providing for transfer of structured settlement payment rights from a payee to a transferee.

Amended by 2016 Tenn. Acts, ch. 795,s 1, eff. 4/14/2016.

Acts 2000, ch. 758, § 3.