| A | B |
|---|
| administrator | A person or an entity appointed by a court to administer an intestate estate. |
| beneficiary | One who inherits under a will; one who benefits from a trust. |
| bequest | A gift by will of personal property; a legacy. |
| codicil | An amendment to a will, either to add or delete provisions of a will, that is executed with all formalities of a will. |
| conservator | A person appointed by a court to manage the estate of a protected person. |
| decedent | A person who has died; deceased person. |
| descendant | Those persons who are in the blood stream of the ancestor. |
| devise | A gift of real property by a will. Under the Uniform Probate Code, a gift of real or personal property by a will. |
| devisee | The person to whom land or real property is given by will. |
| disclaimer | The refusal or rejection of an estate or right offered to a person. |
| estate | A person’s property. |
| estate planning | The area of law dealing with planning for the disposition of a person’s property after death. |
| estate tax | A federal tax imposed upon a person’s estate based upon the value of the assets on date of death or an alternate valuation date. |
| executor | A person or entity appointed by a person to administer the terms of their will. Called personal representative under the Uniform Probate Code. |
| fiduciary | A person or institution who manages money or property for another and who must exercise a standard of care imposed by law, i.e., personal representative or executor of an estate or a trustee. |
| fiduciary income tax return | A federal tax return filed by the fiduciary for an estate--IRS Form 1041. |
| guardian | A person designated in a will or appointed by the court to manage the affairs and/or care for the needs of a minor or a disabled person. |
| guardian ad litem | Person appointed by a court to represent a minor or incapacitated person in a legal proceeding. |
| heir | One who inherits property, either real or personal, from a relative. |
| inheritance tax | A tax imposed by a state on the amount received by each beneficiary less exemptions, if any. |
| inter vivos trust | A trust created during a decedent’s lifetime that becomes operative during his lifetime. |
| legacy | A disposition of personal property by a will; a bequest. |
| legatee | The person to whom a legacy is given in a will. |
| letters of administration | The formal document issued by a probate court that appoints the administrator of an estate. |
| letters testamentary | The formal instrument of authority and administration given to a personal representative by the court in a testacy situation. |
| living will | The document by which the maker instructs the physician or medical supplier not to keep the maker alive by use of life-supporting procedures. |
| nonprobate asset | An asset owned by decedent and others in joint tenancy, life insurance, and other property payable to others instead of to the estate, and property held in inter vivos and Totten trusts. |
| per capita | According to the number of individuals, share and share alike. |
| per stirpes | By roots or stocks; by representation. Denotes that method of dividing an intestate estate where a class or group of distributees take the share which their deceased would have been entitled to, had he or she lived, taking thus by their right of representing such ancestor, and not as so many individuals. |
| personal representative | The name given under the Uniform Probate Code to a person appointed by the court to handle the administration of an estate. |
| probate | Court proceeding by which a will is proved valid or invalid. Term used to mean all proceedings pertaining to the administration of an estate. |
| probate asset | An item of property owned solely by decedent or in which the decedent owned an interest as a tenant in common and life insurance proceeds payable to the estate; requires a court proceeding for proper distribution. |
| testator, testatrix | A person who makes a will. |
| trust | A fiduciary agreement whereby property is transferred with the intention that it be administered by a trustee for another’s benefit. |
| Uniform Probate Code | A system of probate laws to make it possible for decedents’ estates to be administered in the same fashion in all states and to streamline the entire probate process. |
