COMMON ESTATE TERMS
ESTATE ADMINISTRATION RESOURCES & TERMONOLOGY
Here are some additional resources to help you with the process of Estate Planning and Estate Administration
CONTACT USCommon Estate Terms
An estate is the total property (both real and personal) that is owned by the deceased immediately prior to death.
An executor is the personal representative of the deceased person and has essentially the same rights, duties and obligations that the deceased person had while they were alive. The executor is able to sue other parties, and is the individual that is sued by other parties in respect to issues related to the estate. This may come as a surprise to family members who thought the "estate" is a specific legal entity.
Beneficiary:
a person or organization entitled to benefit under the Will.
Bequest, Legacy or Devise:
a disposition of personal property under the terms of the Will.
Codicil:
an addition or amendment to a Will.
Estate:
includes everything owned by a person who has died.
Estate Administrator:
the person appointed by the court to handle the affairs of the deceased.
Executor, Executrix, Estate Trustee:
person named in a Will and legally charged with carrying out its provisions.
Guardian:
a person or trust company appointed by the court to care for the property of a child.
Holographic Will:
a Will written entirely in the handwriting of the testator and not witnessed.
Inter Vivos Trust:
a trust created to take effect during the lifetime of the creator of the trust.
Intestate:
describes someone who dies without leaving a Will.
Issue:
descendants of a person, including not only children but grandchildren, great-grandchildren and more remote descendants.
Probate:
the legal process of proving that a Will is valid and gives power to the Executor to administer and distribute it.
Power of Attorney (for property and/or care):
a written authorization to represent or act on another's behalf.
Residual Beneficiary:
the beneficiary to whom the residue of the estate is left.
Residue:
the assets remaining in an estate after all of the debts of the testator and the specific bequests in the Will have been satisfied.
Testamentary Capacity:
the ability to know and understand the action of making a Will, the nature and extent of property which constitutes the estate, and who should and will benefit under the Will.
Testamentary Trust:
a trust created by a Will.
Testate:
describes someone who has died leaving a Will.
Testator, Testatrix:
the person who makes a Will.
Trust:
an interest in property held legally by one person for the benefit of another.
Trustee:
one who manages property or money for another.
Will:
the legal statement of a person's wishes regarding the disposal of their property after death.
