Glossary of Legal Terms

• Administrator (male), Administratrix (female) (also known as Personal Representative) - Person or institution appointed by the court to manage and distribute the estate of a person who dies without a will.
• Administrator with the Will Annexed – Person designated by the Court to carry out the terms of a Will where the Will fails to name an executor.
• Beneficiary - Person named to receive property or benefits.
• Codicil - An addition or supplement made to change or add provisions to a will.
• Contingent beneficiary - Receiver or property or benefits if first-named beneficiary dies before receiving all benefits.
• Contract - Legally enforceable agreement.
• Decedent - A deceased person.
• Devise - To give real or Personal Property.
• Estate - Everything a person owns, all real and personal property owned.
• Executor (male), Executrix (female) (also known as a Personal Representative) - A person or institution named in the will to carry out the provisions and directions of the will.
• Intestate - A person who dies without making a valid will.
• Legatee - Person who receives personal property under a will.
• Levied - To collect by assessment.
• Lien - A charge upon property, real or personal, for the satisfaction of a debt.
• Personal property - Intangible property, such as stocks, bonds, or bank accounts; and tangible property such as furniture, automobile, jewelry.
• Probate - Official proof of the genuineness of a will.
• Real Property - Land and buildings.
• Surrogate - A judicial officer who has jurisdiction over the probate of wills in the absence of a contest and acts as the Clerk of the Probate Court in the settlement of estates, guardianships, and trusts.
• Tenants in common - Two or more persons owning individual interests in property.
• Testator (male), Testatrix (female) - The person who makes a will.
• Trust - Property owned and managed by one person for the benefit of another.
• Trustee - Person or institution holding property in trust.
• Waiver - A legal instrument relinquishing a right or lien.
• Will - A legal declaration of the manner in which a person wishes his estate divided after death.
• Witness - Person who observed the signing of a will and also attests to the signatures.