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A
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| Abatement |
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Pro
rata reduction applied amongst beneficiaries or
creditors if there is not enough money to satisfy
specific bequests or debts |
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| Absolute |
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Given
without any condition |
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| Ademption |
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Gift
or property mentioned in a Will, which no longer
exists or is no longer owned by the Testator |
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| Administer |
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Deal
with a person's estate |
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| Administration
Period |
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The
time it takes from the date of death to the
completion of the estate's administration |
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| Administrator |
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Someone
who is appointed by law to settle an estate where
there is no Will, or if the named executor does not
wish to act |
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| Adoption |
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A
legally adopted child has rights of inheritance in
the estate of his or her adoptive parent(s) but not
in the estate of his or her natural parent(s). |
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| Advance
Directive |
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(Sometimes
known as a "Living Will"). A
document containing instructions to medical
personnel to allow them to stop prolonging a
person's life in the event of the person becoming
terminally ill, permanently unconscious or losing
mental capacity. Advance Directives cannot necessarily be
enforced by law |
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| Affidavit |
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Written
statement, confirmed by oath, for use as evidence in
court |
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| Applicant |
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The
person applying for a grant |
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| Assets |
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Everything
owned by the deceased |
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| Attestation |
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Signature
of a witness on a Will |
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B
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| Beneficiary |
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Person
entitled to a share of the deceased's estate in
their Will, or from a Trust or under the Rules of
Intestacy |
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| Bequest |
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A
gift of a particular object or cash in a Will |
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C
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| Caveat |
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A
procedure to prevent the issue of a grant until
disputes or other matters are settled |
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| Chattels |
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Moveable
personal property - eg TV, sofa, cooker |
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| Chargeable
Gift |
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An
item given in a Will on which tax may have to be
paid |
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| Children |
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All
legitimate, illegitimate and legally adopted
children, not including step children |
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Civil Partnership |
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Introduced in December 2005 for homosexual couples -
each partner should make a new Will when registering
or dissolving a Civil Partnership |
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| Codicil |
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Addition
or change made to a Will. It has to be signed and
witnessed in the same way as a Will |
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| Co-habitee |
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Partner
who may be able to claim part of the estate |
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| Coroner |
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Doctor
or lawyer responsible for investigating deaths in
the following situations: |
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- The
deceased was not attended by a doctor during the
last illness or the doctor treating the deceased
had not seen him or her either after death or
within the 14 days before death
- The
death was violent or unnatural or occurred under
suspicious circumstances
- The
cause of death is not known or is uncertain
- The
death occurred while the patient was undergoing
an operation or did not recover from the
anaesthetic
- The
death was caused by an industrial disease
- The
death occurred in a prison or in police custody
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D
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| Deed
of Variation |
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Document
which can vary the terms of the Will within two
years of death if all the adult beneficiaries
consent |
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| De
facto |
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Usually
used when referring to the common law spouse as a de
facto wife or de facto husband. Common law
couples do not have the same rights as married
couples |
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| Deceased |
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Person
who has died |
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| Deposition |
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Official
statement by a witness taken in writing as opposed
to taken verbally |
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| Devise |
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A
gift by Will of freehold property |
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| Discretionary
Trust |
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A
trust where the trustee has full power to decide
when and which members of a group of beneficiaries
are to benefit |
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| Domicile |
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Legally,
the definition of domicile is something of a grey
area, but generally speaking your domicile is where
you believe that your home is and, if you are not
there now, where you intend, eventually, to return.
You might live temporarily - or even for extended
periods of years - away from your domicile but if
your intention is to return you retain that
domicile. Once you have decided to settle
permanently in another country your domicile
changes. This has implications for tax - see leaflet
IR20 at www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk |
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E
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| Estate |
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The
property, money and possessions of a deceased person
(assets less any liabilities) |
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| Examiner |
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A
member of the Probate Registry staff who checks that
applications for grants are correct |
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| Exclusion
Clause |
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If
you exclude someone from your Will, they may be able
to contest your Will in Court following your death.
This may be done on the basis that the omission was
an oversight, or because you have not properly
provided for any of your dependants who are unable
to maintain themselves, or if you have not been fair
to your wife or husband (or even an ex-wife or
ex-husband who has not remarried).
Therefore it is advisable to incorporate an
Exclusion Clause in your Will naming the person to
be excluded. This makes the testator's intentions
clear and Executors can, if the need arises, refer
to the clause to prove the exclusion was deliberate.
However, the Court will consider these reasons but
they will not be bound by them.
For Scotland, spouses have "prior
rights" and spouses and children have
"legal rights" - see
Rules
of Intestacy. |
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| Executor |
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The
person appointed in a Will to administer the estate |
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G
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| Grant
of Probate |
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Legal
document issued to the executors of a valid Will
authorising them to deal with the estate |
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| Grant
of Letters of Administration |
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Legal
document appointing an administrator to deal with an
estate where there is no valid Will |
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| Grant
of Letters of Administration with the Will Annexed |
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Legal
document appointing an administrator to deal with an
estate where no executor has been named in a Will,
or where the executors are unwilling or unable to
act |
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| Grant
of Representation |
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An
order of the High Court when a grant of probate or a
grant of administration is obtained, and the
Personal Representative is free to administer and
distribute the estate |
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| Guardians |
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The
people chosen by the testator to look after their
children who are under 18 in the event of their (the
parents) death. If
you have children under 18 when you die and your
children do not have anyone else with parental
rights then the guardian will be entitled to take
charge of the children and assume parental
responsibilities and rights. Normally, unless your
choice of guardian is questionable and/or the child
is in danger, the courts and/or Local Authority will
not interfere. Of course, if someone else other than
the person you name in your Will wishes to have the
children it is open to them to take court action and
the matter would then be decided by the Judge. Your
wishes would be a significant factor in the Judge's
mind. It is sensible to make sure that the person
you name as Guardian is willing to accept the role! |
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H |
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| Heritable
Estate |
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(Scotland
only). Land, buildings etc in the deceased's
estate. If
you make a Will you can leave your heritable estate
to whoever you want. But note the survivorship
exception to that general rule. |
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| Holographic
Will |
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An
un-witnessed, handwritten Will. To be valid, a
Holographic Will must be written, dated and signed
in the handwriting of the person making the Will |
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I
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| Inheritance
Tax |
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Also
called IHT, this is the tax which is payable on the
transfer of assets above the "nil rate
band" either during lifetime or on death |
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| Inquest |
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A
public enquiry held by a coroner into the medical
cause and circumstance of a death |
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| In
Specie |
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If
one of your beneficiaries wants an item of your
estate (e.g. a clock) instead of money then it is
said that the beneficiary wants to take part of his
legacy "in specie". If the clock is not
left specifically to someone in the Will, it is for
the Executor to decide if this is okay. |
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| Interest |
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The
right to certain property |
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| Intestate |
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Dying
without making a legally valid Will |
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| Intestacy |
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The
situation which arises when someone dies without
making a Will |
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| Issue |
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All
the "living" direct bloodline descendents |
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J
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| Joint
Tenancy |
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Property
owned by two or more people. In the event of the death
of one tenant, the other becomes the owner of the
whole property. A joint tenant cannot make a gift of
his or her share of the property to anyone else (in
a Will) as
it is not his or hers to give |
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L
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| Legacy |
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A
gift left in a Will, other than houses or land.
There are three common types of legacies: |
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- A
specific legacy is a gift of a specific property or
object
- A
pecuniary legacy is a gift of a specific sum of
money
- A
residuary legacy is a gift of the money or
assets left over when all other legacies and
expenses have been paid
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| Legatee |
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A
person who receives who receives a Legacy |
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| Liabilities |
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Debts
that need to be settled by the estate following the
death of the deceased |
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| Life
Interest |
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The
right to enjoy for life (or until a specified time
period has elapsed or an event has occurred, like
someone remarrying) either money or property which
will eventually revert to the original estate in
some way on death. Instructions are included in the
Will as to what should happen to the money or
property when the life interest ends |
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| Living
Will |
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(Sometimes
known as an "Advance Directive"). A
document containing instructions to medical
personnel to allow them to stop prolonging a
person's life in the event of the person becoming
terminally ill, permanently unconscious or losing
mental capacity. Living Wills cannot necessarily be
enforced by law |
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M
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| Moveable
Estate |
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(Scotland
only). Any
asset in the estate other than buildings or land -
ie anything
other than Heritable Estate - including money,
shares, share in a business partnership. If you make
a Will then you can limit your spouse's claim to a
share in your moveable property.
A Scottish business partnership
is a separate legal person and can own property. If
you are 1) in a Scottish partnership and 2) that
partnership owns heritable property then, since a
share of a partnership is moveable property,
that heritable property is treated as moveable for
the purposes of inheritance. For example, a widowed
farmer has a son and 2 daughters. He is in a farming
partnership with his son - the partnership owns the
farm. In his Will he leaves his share in the farm to
his son. Unfortunately, the daughters claim their
share in the partnership and the son has to sell up
in order to pay them out. Had the farm not been part
of the partnership assets, his daughters would have
been unable to claim a share in it. |
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N
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| Next
of Kin |
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Nearest
blood relative |
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O
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| Oath |
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A
pledge to tell the truth, often calling upon God as a
witness, signed in front of a solicitor, notary or
barrister and a different person from that advising
you |
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P
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| Pecuniary
Legacy |
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A
gift of a specific sum of money under a Will |
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| Personal
Representative |
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A
person entitled to deal with the deceased's estate |
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| Per
Stirpes |
|
When
you leave everything to your children you will not
want to have to change your Will if any die before
you. One option is to arrange that the legacy will
go to your grandchildren. A 'per stirpes'
arrangement means that grandchildren receive what
their parents would have received, in equal shares. |
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| Post-mortem |
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(Or
autopsy). A medical examination of the body to
determine the cause of death |
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| Potentially
Exempt Transfer |
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(Or
PET). A gift made during lifetime that is exempt
from Inheritance Tax if the donor lives for seven
years after making the gift |
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| Power
of Attorney |
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A
donor gives someone Power of Attorney to enable them
to manage that person's financial affairs (see
product - Enduring Power of Attorney) |
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| Predeceased |
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Someone
who dies before the person who has made the Will |
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| Probate |
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The
document issued by the Probate Court, which
pronounces the validity of the Will and upholds the
appointment of the Executor |
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| Probate
Office |
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An
office responsible for interviewing probate
applicants |
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R
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| Registrar |
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The
person who registers deaths. A death must be
registered in the area that it occurred |
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| Residuary
Beneficiary |
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Any
person entitled to receive a share of any residue of
the estate, under the terms of the Will or on
intestacy |
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| Residue |
|
What
is left of the deceased's Estate after legacies,
specific gifts, funeral expenses and IHT have been
paid, including
bank accounts and insurance policies |
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| Reversionary
Interest |
|
Interest
in Trust property |
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| Revocation |
|
When
the testator decides to change their Will completely
and invalidates the previous one |
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S
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| Social
Fund |
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Part
of the Social Security system, which may provide
help with the cost of a funeral |
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| Specific
Gifts |
|
Specific
gifts
left to specific people |
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| Spouse |
|
When
using terms such as "husband" and
"wife", it is important to consider that
this refers to your husband or wife at the time a
Will was written. If you are going through a
divorce, your spouse remains your husband or wife
until you receive your decree absolute |
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| Statement
of Truth |
|
Written
statement including a solemn declaration that it is
true. (This document is a current proposal to replace an
oath) |
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| Survivorship |
|
(Scotland
only). If you bought any heritable property in
joint names then it is quite possible that you have
entered into a contract (by dint of the wording of
the deed) with the person concerned that you will
hold the property "jointly and to the
survivor". This means that when one of you dies
the other receives the property irrespective of what
any Will may say. If this is not what you want you
should see a Solicitor immediately as well as making
a Will now. |
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