Glossary of Terms
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Administrator/Administratrix: A person named by the court to administer the estate of a person who died without a will.
Bequest: A gift of personal property in a will.
Codicil: An addition or supplement to a will that adds to, deletes or changes the will’s provisions.
Creator (or Grantor): A person who sets up the trust and generally puts some or all of his or her assets in the trust.
Decedent: A person who has died.
Devise: A gift of real property in a will.
Distributee: A person, related by blood, who could receive a share if there is no will.
Durable Power of Attorney: A Power of Attorney that remains in effect even if the grantor becomes physically or mentally incompetent.
Estate: The total property, real and personal, that a person owns.
Estate Tax: The tax that may be due based on the value of the decedent’s property.
Executor/Executrix: A person named in a will and appointed by a judge to carry out the terms of the will and administer the decedent’s estate.
Gift Tax: The tax that may be due when one makes a gift during their lifetime.
Guardian: A person designated by the court to protect and look after a person or the person’s property, or both.
Guardian Ad Litem: A person, typically an attorney, appointed to look after and protect the interests of a minor, a missing distributee or an incompetent distribute or a person under disability for the duration of the estate proceedings only.
Health Care Proxy: Gives a named individual the right to make decisions regarding the medical treatment to be provided, withdrawn or withheld if the person who executed the document is physically or mentally unable to make such decisions.
Heir at Law or Next of Kin: A person who inherits when there is no will.
Incompetent Person: A person who has been declared by the court to be unable to manage himself or herself and or his or her affairs.
Intestate: When a person dies without a will.
Issue: Descendants from a common ancestor.
Legacy: A gift, usually of money, in a will.
Life estate: The right to use or occupy property which ceases upon one’s death.
Living Trust: A trust created while the creator of the trust is living.
Living Will: A general statement made by a person regarding their future medical care and may include specific instructions to provide or refrain from taking life sustaining measures.
Marital Deduction: Property transferred from one spouse to another is not taxable for gift tax or estate tax purposes.
Medicaid Trust: A trust designed to protect a person’s assets and allow the person to qualify for Medicaid.
Person Under Disability: A person whom the court has reason to believe is incapable of protecting his or her own interest in the estate, although not judged to be incompetent.
Power of Attorney: Written authorization, which ceases upon death, for another person to do something on an individual’s behalf.
Residue: The balance remaining after bequests, legacies and devises are given by a will or trust.
Springing Power of Attorney: A Power of Attorney that takes effect upon the occurrence of a specified event.
Testamentary Guardian: A person named in a will to be the guardian of a minor or a mentally disabled person.
Testate: When a person dies with a will.
Testator/Testatrix: A person who makes a will.
Trust: An entity created to separate the control of assets from the right to receive income or principal. A trust may be created either during a person’s lifetime or at their death.
Trustee: The trustee is charged with managing assets for the benefit of the income and principal beneficiaries.