Term | Definition | Things to Consider..... |
Administrator | Person officially appointed to administer the estate of someone who died without leaving a will | Who would you trust do wind up your estate? Would you leave it for the courts to decide? |
Adoption | An act by which the rights and duties of the natural parents of a child are extinguished and equivalent rights and duties become vested in the adopter or adopters, to whom the child then stands in all respects as if born to them in marriage | If you have adopted children – they will have the same legal rights as birth children. If you have put children up for adoption, you cannot leave them anything and they have no claim on your Will |
Age to Inherit | The minimum age at which you would wish your beneficiaries to receive their inheritance | This is normally 18, 21 or 25 to ensure that beneficiaries are mature enough to cope with their inheritance |
Assignation | The transfer of a right from one party to another | |
Beneficiary | Somebody who is entitled to money, property or specific items under a Will | Who would you most like to benefit from your estate? |
Codicil | An addendum signed and executed which amends or adds something to a will | |
Compos Mentis | Of sound mind | |
Conveyancing | The process by which ownership of land is transferred between a seller and a buyer | |
Estate | The rights and assets of a person in property | |
Executor | A person or persons specified to carry out the provisions of a will | Who would you trust to carry out the distribution of your Estate? |
Funeral Arrangements | How you would like your remains to be dealt with | Do you have specific instructions for your arrangements? Common choices are Cremation or Burial. |
Guardian | A person appointed to safeguard/protect/manage the interests of a child or person under mental disability | Who would you trust to look after your minor children? |
House Legacy | A gift of Property left in a Will | Do you wish to leave a house legacy and if so, to whom? |
Incapax | As applied to a person, signifies legal, mental or physical incapacity | |
Intestate | Without leaving a will | |
Legacy | A Gift Under a Will (See Specific, House, Pecuniary or Residue) | Do you wish to leave a legacy? If so, to whom? |
Matrimonial Home | Any structure provided by one or both spouses/civil partners and forming a family residence | |
Pecuniary Legacy | A gift of Cash left in a Will | Do you wish to leave a legacy of money and if so, to whom? |
Per Capita | By heads | Do you wish legacies to be distributed as per the survivor of a group? |
Per Stirpes | By descent; i.e to the children of the predeceased | Do you wish legacies to be distributed to the issue of a predeceasing beneficiary? |
Specific Legacy | A gift of specific items left in a Will | Do you wish to leave a legacy of a specific item and if so, to whom? |
Residue | The remainder of the estate after the payment of all debts, taxes, administration expenses, legacies and bequests under the Will | To whom do you wish to leave the residue of your estate? |
Revocation | A clause which must be signed and witnessed declaring that these are your wishes as laid out in the Will and revoking all previous Wills | |
Testator | A person who makes a will | |
Trust | Property legally entrusted to a person with instructions to use it for another person (or persons benefit) | |
Trustee | A person who holds or administers property in a trust for another (or others) | |
Will | A declaration of a person's intentions to distribute his/her estate and assets | |
