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Here are some terms
that you should understand before
writing your will:
-
Administrator: The individual
the court appoints to handle the estate of a person who died without a
will. Sometimes a family member performs this duty, but most often the
administrator is a lawyer who must be paid by the estate.
-
Codicil: a small amendment to
a will that makes a minor change.
-
Elective share: The share provided
by state law to the spouse and children of the deceased. Usually this is
a dollar figure that is paid to the survivors before any other bills or
bequests are doled out.
-
Executor: The person who closes
an estate. (If the executor is a woman, she is sometimes called the executrix.)
-
Guardian: The individual left
in charge of caring, feeding and educating the dependent(s) of the deceased.
Sometimes a second guardian is appointed to specifically guard the minors'
property. Most often, the surviving parent becomes the guardian of the
children's person and property. All guardians are subject to court approval.
Guardianship ends when the minor becomes a legal adult (either at age 18,
or 21, depending on the state). At this point, the guardian must, by law,
turn over the property to the young adult, unless the benefactor established
a trust.
-
Intestate or Intestacy: Dying
without a will.
-
Per stirpes is a Latin phrase
meaning: If a child dies before the parent, that child's children split
the share.
-
Probate estate: Property exclusively
belonging to the deceased. Shared property (such as a joint checking account)
is not included. The payoff from a life insurance policy is not usually
considered part of the probate estate.
-
Renouncing the will: A person
may decide not to accept the inheritance left to them in a will, and instead
take a share of the estate as provided by the law.
-
Testate: Dying with a will.
-
Testator: The person who has
written the will.
-
Trustee: The executor of a trust.
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