- Administrator
- A person appointed when either no Will can be found or there is no executor to carry out the intentions of the Will.
- Administration, Letters of
- Granted by a court to administrators (usually the next of kin) to give them the authority they need to act and to administer/distribute the estate where there is no Will.
- Assets
- Generally everything that you own.
- Beneficiary
- Someone who will inherit from the Will, a trust or under the intestacy laws.
- Bequest
- A gift left in a Will.
- Chargeable gift
- A gift on which Inheritance Tax may be payable.
- Codicil
- A document executed by a testator subsequent to the Will which alters, cancels or adds to the provisions of the previously drafted Will.
- Devise
- A gift by Will of freehold property.
- Executor
- A person appointed in the Will to administer the estate.
- Guardian
- Someone appointed to look after the interests of a child under the age of 18.
- Inheritance Tax
- Tax payable on the transfer of assets either during an individual's lifetime or on his or her death.
- Intestate
- A person who dies without making a valid Will.
- Legacy
- A gift of a specific item left in a Will, apart from land.
- Life Interest
- The right to enjoy for life (or until a specified time period has elapsed or an event has occurred, like someone remarrying) either money or property which will eventually revert to the original estate in some way on death - instructions are included in the Will as to what should happen to the gift when the life interest ends.
- Moveable Property
- Anything other than buildings or land.
- Pecuniary Legacy
- A gift of money under a Will.
- Potentially Exempt Transfer (PET)
- A gift made during ones lifetime that is exempt from Inheritance Tax if the donor lives for seven years after making the gift.
- Predeceased
- Someone who dies before the person who has made the Will.
- Probate, Grant of
- The document which confirms to executors that they have authority to act, and which validates the Will.
- Residue
- What is left of the estate after the payment of all debts, taxes, administration expenses, legacies and bequests under the Will.
- Reversionary Interest
- Interest in trust property.
- Specific Legacy
- A gift of a specific object under a Will.
- Testator/Testatrix
- The person (male/female) who makes the Will.
- Trust
- An arrangement by which asset(s) is handed over to trustees to be applied for the benefit of other people known as beneficiaries.
- Trustee
- A person holding asset(s) on behalf of another person and is responsible for administering the trust assets.
- Variation, Deed of
- An arrangement whereby certain provisions under a Will may be varied by consent of the beneficiaries.
- Will
- A form of instructions as to how someone wishes to dispose of their assets on death.