Glossary (In alphabetic order)
A
Administrator: A person responsible for estate dealing of the deceased person
Asset: Property, item, money and belongings of the deceased
B
Beneficiary: Person benefiting from the will
Bequeath: The act of leaving bequest
Bequest: Any gift mentioned in will
C
Chattel: Item that is not money
Codicil: Document used for will amendments
Conditional or contingent legacy: Gift to beneficiary after fulfilment of certain conditions
D
Death certificate: Certified copy of death register entry
Debts: Monitory values owed by deceased
Disclaimers: refusal of beneficiary to receive gifts
Discretionary trust: a trust providing complete discretion to the trustee for the receptions of benefits by the beneficiary
E
Estate: Possession of significant value owned by deceased
Estate account: Financial transaction record of deceased from the date of death
Expected estate: term used for when value of estate is less than the inheritance tax or the there are no inheritance tax due to charity
Executor: An appointed person to deal with the will
G
General legacy: Gift or money from will which is different from the specific legacy
Grant of letter of administration: the issued document by probate registry
Grant of probate: Document by probate registry to certify executor or administrator
Grant of representation: A courts order to deal with deceased assets
Guardian: An appointed person for child’s parental responsibilities
I
Inheritance tax threshold: The figure above which a tax is payable
Insolvent estate: an estate where total liability is bigger than the total asset
Intestate/intestacy: A situation where no will is left by the deceased person
Interest/beneficial interest: A right over or to the property
L
Legacy: A gift mentioned in the will and often referred to money or gift
Legatee: A person or beneficiary at the reception end of the legacy
Lapse: When beneficiary dies before testator
P
Pecuniary legacy/Gift/bequest: sum of money gifted
Personal effect: Chattels owned by deceased
Personal representation: A term generally used for both the administrator and the executor
Power reserved: When the eligible executor doesn’t wish to carry the act of execution and reserves it for the duties to be carried out later
Probate registry: A court which is the part of family division high court
R
Renouncing probate renunciation: A situation when the eligible executor refused to act as an executor and signs legal documents to exclude the person from the list.
Residuary estate residue: Whatever is left after the clearance of debts, liabilities and the expenses
S
Specific legacy, gift or bequest: A gift specified in different terms of reception by the beneficiary
Survivorship: A situation where a person lives more than another person
T
Testator or Testatrix (Female): The author of a will
Trust: A person who is entitled to divide the legal ownership of the assets. When something is legally owned and benefited by someone which is supposed to be owned and benefited by the beneficiary than that person is called the trustee.
W
Will: A legal document that decided the division and inheritance of the property and belonging after the death of that person.