Probate Glossary
Affidavit A
written or printed declaration or statement of facts confirmed by the oath or
affirmation of the making party.
Amendment Alteration of a law or resolution.
Ancillary Administration
of an estate other than where the decedent was domiciled.
Beneficiary
Heir at law, in an intestate estate, and devisee, in a testate
estate.
Bona Fide
In or with good faith, honestly, openly & sincerely, without
deceit or fraud.
Caveat
If an creditor of the estate of a decedent is apprehensive that an estate,
wither testate or intestate, will be administered without the creditor's
knowledge, or if any person other than a creditor is apprehensive that an estate
may be administered, or that a will may be admitted to probate, without the
person's knowledge, he or she may file a caveat with the court. Upon a probate
proceeding opened, the court will notify that person of the opening.
Claims
Liabilities of the decedent, whether arising in contract, tort, or
otherwise, and funeral expenses. The term does not include expenses of
administration or estate, inheritance, succession, or other death taxes.
Clerk
The clerk or deputy clerk of the court.
Codicil
A supplement or addition to a will, not necessarily disposing of the
entire estate but modifying, explaining, or otherwise qualifying the will in
some way.
Court
The circuit court.
Creditor
An individual or entity to which an estate may be indebted.
Curator
A person appointed by the court to take charge of the estate of a
decedent until letters are issued.
Decedent
The person who has died.
Devise
When used as a noun, means a testamentary disposition of real or
personal property and, when used as a verb, means to dispose of real or personal
property by a will. The term includes "gift," "give,"
"bequeath," bequest," and "legacy."
Devisee A
person designated in a will to receive a devise.
Disclaimer
The rejection, refusal, or renunciation of a claim, power or
property.
Domicile
A person's usual place of dwelling and shall be synonymous
with "residence."
Elective Share A
widow's statutory prescribed share.
Estate
Property of a decedent that is the subject of administration.
Executor
A person named by a testator to carry out the provisions in the
testator's will.
Exempt
Property
Estate property which is not subject to probate proceedings.
Family Administration
Simplified probate proceeding which may be used if total value of the
estate is less than $60,000.
Family Allowance
A portion of a decedent's estate set aside by statute for a surviving
spouse, children, or parents, regardless of any testamentary disposition or
competing claims.
Fiduciary
Another name for an executor or personal representative.
Foreign Guardian
A guardian
appointed in another state or country.
Guardian
A person who has been appointed by the court to act on behalf of a
ward's person or property or both.
Heirs
An individual entitled by law to inherit from another.
Homestead
Property which is set aside for the benefit of specific family
members, and which cannot be transferred by the decedent to a third party. As
long as the homestead does not exceed in area or value the limits fixed by law,
in most states it is exempt from forced sale for collection of a debt.
Incapacitated
Person A person who has
been judicially determined to
Lack
the capacity to manage at least some of the property or to meet at least some of
the essential health and safety requirements of such person.
Intestate
Without a will.
Letters
The authority granted by the court to the personal representative to
act on behalf of the estate of the decedent and refers to what has been known as
letters testamentary and letters of administration.
Minor
A person under 18 years of age whose disabilities have not been
removed by marriage or otherwise.
Oath
A solemn affirmation to tell the truth.
Personal Representative
The fiduciary appointed by the court to administer the estate and
refers to what has been known as an administrator or executor.
Per Stirpes
To distribute a share to a descendant of a deceased beneficiary.
Petition
A written request to the court for an order.
Plenary Guardian
Full, entire, complete Guardianship.
Pre-need Guardian
A person named in a written declaration to serve as guardian in the
event of the incapacity of the declarent.
Probate of Will
Means all steps necessary to establish the validity of a will and to
admit a will to probate.
Pro Bono
Work or services done or performed by an attorney, free of charge.
Rescind
To cancel; revoke; terminate.
Residuary Devise
A devise of the assets of the estate which remain after the provision
for any devise which is to be satisfied by reference to a specific property or
type of property, fund, sum, or statutory amount.
Revocation
The act of withdrawal or recall of some power, making void a will.
Self-Proved Will
A will in which at least two witnesses took an oath, included in the
will, at the time the will was signed, and in which both the witnesses' and the
decedent's signatures were notarized by a qualified notary public.
Subpoena
A document ordering an individual to appear in court and give
testimony.
Sui Juris
Of full age and capacity.
Summary Administration
used if assets are under $25,000 or the decedent has been dead for
more than 2 years.
Testate
Having left a will at death.
Trustee
Person or entity authorized by a trust document to handle certain
property matters on behalf of another.
Waiver The
voluntary relinquishment of a privilege or a right.
Ward
A person who is under a guardian's charge or protection.
Will
An instrument executed by a person, which disposes of a person's
property on or after his or her death.
This "Glossary of Terms" is not intended to be a definitive
legal definition of terms, but, is merely provided to assist the public with
general understanding of court terminology.
If
you have a need for definitive legal definitions of these or any other legal
terms, you should seek the services of an attorney
Estate
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