WILL TERMINOLOGY

Will Terminology

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The following provides a list of Will terminology that will be useful to aid your understanding on the scope of Will Writing :

Administrator

  • The person appointed by the court to handle the estate of someone who died without a Will or with a Will but no nominated executor.

Affidavit

  • Written statement by a person, who signs it and swears under oath.

Asset

  • Generally, any item of property that has monetary value, such as a house or land, money, shares in a Company, works of art, or a life insurance policy.

Beneficiary

  • A beneficiary is someone who receives benefits from a Will.

Bequeath

  • To leave to somebody or dispose of as in a Will.

Bequest

  • A bequest is a gift, such as cash or property, left in a Will.

Caveat

  • A legal notice to a court to prevent a grant of Probate being issued.

Codicil

  • A document that changes, revokes, or amends part or all of a validly executed Will. It is filed with the original Will but not attached to it.

Deceased

  • The person who has died.

Domicile

  • Treat a specific country as a permanent home, reside or be based.

Estate

  • All the possessions of one who has died and are subject to probate (administration supervised by the court) and distribution to heirs and beneficiaries.

Executor

  • A person named by a maker of a will, or nominated by the testator, to carry out the directions of the Will.

Guardian

  • The person appointed by the court to control and care for a minor. The person appointed by the court to look after an incapacitated adult may also be known as a guardian.

Intestate

  • A situation where a person dies without leaving a valid will.

Minor

  • Any person who is below 21 years old.

Probate

  • The process of proving a Will is valid and thereafter administering the estate of a dead person according to the terms of the Will.

Trustee

  • A person who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the benefit of another.

Undue influence

  • The amount of pressure that one uses to force someone to execute a Will leaving assets in a particular way, to make a direct gift while alive or to sign a contract. The pressure that takes away a person’s free will to make decisions, substituting the will of the influencer.