In this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires,

(1) “burial plot” means a parcel of real estate that is used for burial of human remains and that is located within an area designated for cemetery purposes by the state or a municipality;

(2) “creditor” includes the state on behalf of a victim of a crime or a delinquent act;

(3) “debt” means a legally enforceable monetary obligation or liability of an individual, whether arising out of contract, tort, or otherwise;

(4) “dependent” means an individual who derives support primarily from another individual;

(5) “earnings” means money received by an individual for personal services and denominated as wages, salary, commissions, or otherwise;

(6) “exempt” means protected, and “exemption” means protection, from subjection to process or a proceeding to collect an unsecured debt;

(7) “household goods” includes those items that make a residence habitable according to modern standards;

(8) “judgment of restitution”

(A) includes restitution ordered

(i) under AS 47.12.120 that is considered as a civil judgment enforceable by execution under AS 47.12.170; and

(ii) as part of a sentence under AS 12.55.025(f) that is considered as a judgment for money entered in a civil action;

(B) does not include a judgment for

(i) civil damages for torts under state law; or

(ii) restitution as a result of a violation of state law that is not a felony or misdemeanor;

(9) “judicial lien” means a lien on property obtained by judgment, levy, sequestration, or other legal or equitable process or proceeding instituted for the purpose of collecting an unsecured debt;

(10) “levy” means the seizure of property under a writ of attachment, garnishment, execution, or any similar legal or equitable process issued for the purpose of collecting an unsecured debt;

(11) “lien” means

(A) a security interest;

(B) a judicial or statutory lien;

(C) a common law lien on property

(i) only if the lien was consented to by the owner of the property affected; or

(ii) if not consented to by the owner of the property affected as provided in (i) of this subparagraph, only when the lien is accompanied by a specific order authorizing the recording or filing of the lien issued by a court of competent jurisdiction recognized under state or federal law, which order shall be recorded or filed with the lien; or

(D) any interest in property other than one described in (A) - (C) of this paragraph securing payment of a debt or performance of an obligation;

(12) “principal residence” means the actual dwelling place of an individual or dependents of the individual and includes real and personal property;

(13) “security interest” means an interest in property created by contract to secure payment or performance of an obligation;

(14) “serve notice” means to give the person to be served a written personal notice in the same manner a summons in a civil action is served, or to mail the notice to the person's last known address by first-class mail and by using a form of mail requiring a signed receipt;

(15) “statutory lien” means a lien arising by force of a statute under specified circumstances or conditions, but does not include a security interest;

(16) “value” means fair market value of an individual's interest in property, exclusive of liens of record;

(17) “victim” has the meaning given in AS 12.55.185;

(18) “victim of a crime or a delinquent act” means a victim of a crime or a delinquent act committed in violation of state law; “victim of a crime or a delinquent act” does not include a victim of a violator of an ordinance of a political subdivision of the state;

(19) “wearing apparel” means clothing and garments intended and adapted to be worn on the person to protect the person against the elements or to provide personal comfort or decency, or serving to ornament the person but does not include jewelry.