Glossary

  • Beneficiary

    One entitled to profit, benefit, or advantage from a contract or estate.

  • Codicil

    A written addition or amendment to a will.

  • Conservatorship

    A formal proceeding in which the court appoints a conservator to act on behalf of another in business and or personal matters.

  • Contingent Beneficiary

    One entitled to profit from a contract or estate only upon the occurrence of a specific event, usually one who received assets at the death of the primary or lifetime beneficiary.

  • Decedent

    A deceased person.

  • Estate

    The assets and liabilities, real and personal property, left by a decedent.

  • Estate Tax

    Inheritance tax.

  • Execute

    The act of signing and notarizing trust documents.

  • Executor/Executrix

    Person or institution named in a will to carry out the will’s instructions.

  • Fiduciary

    Of, relating to, or involving a confidence or trust.

  • Gift Tax

    Tax levied on gifts of property, to supplement estate and inheritance tax.

  • Grantor

    One who creates a trust; the trustor, the settlor.

  • Intervivos

    “Between the living” or “while living.”

  • Intestate

    One who dies without a will.

  • Issue

    Lineal descendants.

  • Joint Tenancy

    A holding of property by several persons in such a way that any one of them can act as owner of the whole and take the property by survivorship.

  • Last Will and Testament

    An instrument whereby one makes a disposition of his property to take effect after his death.

  • Life Interest/Life Estate

    An interest in property which is to terminate upon the death of the holder (or some other designated person) of the interest.

  • Living Will

    A document which formally expresses your wish to forgo extraordinary medical treatment when you become terminally ill.

  • Marital Deduction

    Exempts from estate tax all property passing from one spouse to the other by reason of gift or death.

  • Pour Over Will

    Instrument which provided that property not previously transferred into a revocable living trust is to be transferred to the trust at the death of the Grantor.

  • Powers of Appointment

    Power vested in an individual to make decisions affecting disposition on distribution of assets.

  • Power of Attorney

    Formal instrument by which an agent is appointed to act on your behalf.

  • Principle of Representation

    Permits the descendants of a deceased beneficiary to receive the same share collectively that the deceased beneficiary would have taken if he had been living.

  • Probate

    The process of proving a will.

  • Probate Court

    Court established for the administration of the estates of decedents, and the control of the adoption and guardianship of minors.

  • Remainderman

    A person who inherits or is entitled to inherit property upon the termination of the estate of the former owner. Usually this occurs due to the death or termination of the former owner's life estate, but this can also occur due to a specific notation in a trust passing ownership from one person to another.

  • Revocable Trust

    A trust in which a contingent interest is given to another and in which the Grantor retains a present interest, ownership, and control.

  • Sprinkling Power

    The power vested in a trustee to distribute income to others over time.

  • Successor Trustee

    Individual who succeeds to the power to manage trust assets.

  • Trust

    A right of property, real or personal, held by one party for the benefit of another.

  • Trustee

    One appointed to manage a trust.

  • Unified Credit

    The dollar amount an individual can transfer free of tax. The credit is $11.2 million per individual. A married couple will be able to shield 22.4 million from taxation. (2018)