Estate, Trust, Probate, and Estate Settlement Glossary
Glossary Index:
| A | | | B | | | C | | | D | | | E | | | F | | | G | | | H | | | I | | | J | | | K | | | L | | | M | | | N | | | O | | | P | | | Q | | | R | | | S | | | T | | | U | | | V | | | W | | | X | | | Y | | | Z |
A
Accounting
A formal report showing estate or trust receipts, disbursements, assets on hand, distributions, fees, and other financial activity.
Administrator
A person appointed by the probate court to manage and settle an estate when there is no valid will, no named executor, or the named executor cannot serve.
Administrator C.T.A.
“Administrator with the will annexed”; a court-appointed fiduciary who administers an estate when there is a will but no executor is able or willing to serve.
Administratrix
An older term for a female administrator; modern usage usually favors “administrator” regardless of gender.
ADR / Alternative Dispute Resolution
Processes used to resolve estate, trust, or beneficiary disputes outside a full trial, including mediation, arbitration, and negotiated settlement.
Affidavit of Heirship
A sworn statement identifying a decedent’s heirs, sometimes used to transfer or clarify ownership of certain property outside full probate.
After-Loss Services
Support services provided after a death or major loss, which may include estate organization, cleanout coordination, document gathering, asset disposition, and family assistance.
Ancillary Probate
A secondary probate proceeding in another state where the decedent owned real property or other assets requiring local court authority.
Appraisal
A professional opinion of value for real estate, personal property, business interests, collectibles, or other assets.
Appraised Value
The estimated value assigned to property by a qualified appraiser, often used for estate tax, sale, insurance, or distribution purposes.
Appraiser
A professional who evaluates and assigns value to property, such as real estate, art, jewelry, antiques, vehicles, or business interests.
Asset Inventory
A list of estate or trust assets, often including descriptions, ownership details, values, account numbers, and supporting documentation.
B
Beneficiary
A person or entity entitled to receive assets, income, or benefits from a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement account, or other transfer arrangement.
Bequest
A gift of personal property made through a will.
Bond
A type of insurance-like guarantee that protects the estate or beneficiaries if a fiduciary mishandles estate assets.
C
Capital Gain
The profit realized when an asset is sold for more than its tax basis.
Caveat
A formal objection or filing that may delay or prevent probate of a will or appointment of a fiduciary until a dispute is resolved. In some states, a caveat is used to challenge the validity of a will.
Certified Probate Expert
A professional designation or marketing credential used by some real estate or estate-service professionals who focus on probate-related transactions and estate-settlement support. It is not the same as being a licensed attorney unless the person is separately admitted to practice law.
Charitable Trust
A trust created to benefit one or more charitable organizations or charitable purposes.
Claim Against the Estate
A demand for payment made by a creditor, government agency, medical provider, lender, or other party.
Closing the Estate
The final stage of estate administration, when debts, taxes, expenses, and distributions have been completed and the fiduciary is discharged.
Codicil
A legal amendment or supplement to an existing will.
Community Property
Property owned by spouses under the law of certain states, generally treating many assets acquired during marriage as jointly owned.
Conservator
A court-appointed person or entity responsible for managing the financial affairs or property of someone unable to do so.
County Clerk
A county official whose office may maintain public records, filings, deeds, court records, or other documents relevant to estate matters, depending on the state and county.
County Registrar
A county or local official who may record, maintain, or certify certain legal records, vital records, property records, or probate-related filings, depending on local law.
Creditor
A person or organization owed money by the decedent, estate, or trust.
Creditor Claim Period
The time period during which creditors may submit claims against an estate.
D
Date-of-Death Value
The fair market value of an asset as of the decedent’s date of death.
Decedent
A person who has died.
Devise
A gift of real property made through a will; in some contexts, the term may be used more broadly for testamentary gifts.
Devisee
A person or entity receiving property under a will.
Disclaimer
A formal refusal to accept an inheritance or gift, often made for tax, planning, or personal reasons.
Disposition
The transfer, sale, distribution, donation, disposal, or other handling of estate or trust property.
Distribution
The transfer of estate or trust property to beneficiaries or heirs.
Domicile
A person’s permanent legal residence, often important for determining which state’s probate and tax rules apply.
Durable Power of Attorney
A document authorizing someone to handle financial or legal matters for another person, continuing even if the principal becomes incapacitated.
E
Estate
The property, rights, debts, and obligations left by a person at death.
Estate Accountant
An accountant who assists with estate or trust tax returns, fiduciary accounting, income and expense tracking, asset basis records, and financial reporting during administration.
Estate Administration
The process of identifying assets, paying debts and taxes, managing property, resolving claims, and distributing remaining assets.
Estate Administration Services
Professional services that help organize, manage, and complete estate administration tasks, such as asset inventory, bill payment coordination, document collection, beneficiary communication, property management, and distribution support.
Estate Attorney / Probate Attorney
A lawyer who advises on wills, trusts, probate, estate administration, fiduciary duties, beneficiary rights, estate disputes, and related tax or transfer issues.
Estate Auction
A sale method in which estate property is sold through competitive bidding, often used for antiques, collectibles, vehicles, jewelry, household contents, or real estate.
Estate Cleanout
The process of removing, sorting, donating, selling, disposing of, or preparing personal property and household contents after a death, move, or estate transition.
Estate Concierge
A service provider who helps families, fiduciaries, or beneficiaries coordinate practical estate-settlement tasks, often including vendors, cleanouts, appraisals, document organization, property preparation, and family logistics.
Estate Sale
A sale of personal property from a home or estate, typically managed by a professional estate-sale company and often used to liquidate household contents.
Estate Settlement
The overall process of winding up a decedent’s personal, financial, legal, and property affairs, whether through probate, trust administration, beneficiary designations, or other transfers.
Estate Tax
A tax imposed on the transfer of a person’s taxable estate at death. The federal government imposes an estate tax on estates exceeding applicable exemption amounts, and some states have separate estate or inheritance tax systems.
Exemplified Will
A court-certified copy of a will, often authenticated with additional official certifications or seals so it can be used in another jurisdiction or for formal legal purposes.
Executor
A person named in a will and appointed by a court to administer the estate.
Executrix
An older term for a female executor; modern usage usually favors “executor” regardless of gender.
Exempt Property
Property that state law may protect or set aside for a surviving spouse or family members before general creditor claims or distributions.
F
Fair Market Value
The price property would likely bring between a willing buyer and willing seller, neither under compulsion and both having reasonable knowledge of relevant facts.
Fiduciary
A person or institution legally obligated to act for another’s benefit, such as a trustee, executor, administrator, guardian, or conservator.
Fiduciary Duty
The legal obligation to act loyally, prudently, honestly, and in the best interests of beneficiaries, heirs, or the estate.
Fiduciary Income Tax Return
A tax return, often IRS Form 1041, reporting income, deductions, gains, losses, and distributions of an estate or trust.
Final Accounting
A concluding financial report submitted to beneficiaries or the probate court before final distribution or discharge.
Funding a Trust
The process of transferring assets into a trust or changing title or beneficiary designations so the trust owns or controls the assets.
G
Grantor
A person who creates or funds a trust; also called a settlor or trustor.
Grief Support
Emotional, practical, or counseling support provided to individuals and families coping with death, loss, and the responsibilities that follow.
Gross Estate
The total value of a decedent’s property and certain interests before deductions, exclusions, debts, and expenses.
Guardian
A court-appointed person responsible for the personal care, and sometimes property, of a minor or incapacitated person.
H
Heir
A person entitled to inherit under state intestacy law when there is no valid will, or when property is not otherwise disposed of.
Heir Search
The process of identifying and locating legal heirs or beneficiaries, often used when family relationships are unclear, heirs are missing, or an estate is being administered without a complete beneficiary list.
Homestead Allowance
A state-law benefit that may provide a surviving spouse or minor children with a protected amount from the estate.
I
Incapacity
A legal or practical inability to manage one’s own personal, medical, or financial affairs.
Inheritance Tax
A tax imposed on a person who receives property from a decedent; only some states impose this tax.
Inter Vivos Trust
A trust created during the grantor’s lifetime; commonly called a living trust.
Intestate
Dying without a valid will disposing of some or all property.
Intestate Succession
The state-law rules determining who inherits property when someone dies without a valid will.
Inventory
A formal list of estate assets and values, often filed with the probate court.
Irrevocable Trust
A trust that generally cannot be revoked or amended by the grantor except as allowed by the trust document or law.
Issue
A person’s lineal descendants, such as children, grandchildren, and further descendants.
J
Joint Tenancy with Right of Survivorship
A form of co-ownership where a deceased owner’s interest passes automatically to the surviving joint owner or owners.
L
Legacy Management
The organization, preservation, transfer, or communication of a person’s assets, records, wishes, family history, charitable intentions, or personal effects.
Letters of Administration
Court-issued documents authorizing an administrator to act on behalf of an estate when there is no executor able or appointed to serve.
Letters of Guardianship
Court-issued documents proving that a guardian has legal authority to act for a minor or incapacitated person, usually regarding personal care, property, or both.
Letters Testamentary
Court-issued documents confirming an executor’s authority to administer an estate under a will.
Life Estate
A property interest lasting for a person’s lifetime, after which the property passes to another person or entity.
Liquidation
The process of converting assets into cash, often through sale, auction, consignment, buyout, or other disposition methods.
Liquidator
A person or company hired to sell estate property, often through an estate sale, auction, consignment, private sale, or bulk purchase.
Living Trust
A trust created during the grantor’s lifetime, often used to manage assets and avoid probate for properly funded assets.
M
Marital Deduction
A federal estate and gift tax concept allowing certain transfers to a surviving spouse to pass free of federal estate or gift tax at the first spouse’s death.
Medallion Signature Guarantee
A specialized certification, usually provided by an eligible financial institution, used when selling or transferring securities such as stocks, bonds, or mutual funds to verify the signer’s identity and the legitimacy of the transaction.
Mediation
A voluntary dispute-resolution process in which a neutral mediator helps parties negotiate a settlement, commonly used in estate, trust, inheritance, and family disputes.
Motion
A formal request asking a court to issue an order or take a specific action in a case. In probate matters, a motion may ask the court to approve a sale, compel an accounting, appoint or remove a fiduciary, extend a deadline, or resolve a dispute.
N
No-Contest Clause
A will or trust provision intended to penalize a beneficiary who challenges the document, subject to state-law limits.
Non-Probate Asset
Property that transfers outside probate, such as jointly owned property, trust assets, life insurance, retirement accounts, and payable-on-death accounts.
Notary Acknowledgment
A formal confirmation by a notary public that a person appeared, proved their identity, and acknowledged signing a document; unlike a Medallion Signature Guarantee, it generally does not guarantee a securities transaction.
Notice to Creditors
A required notice informing potential creditors that an estate has been opened and that claims must be filed by a deadline.
P
Personal Property
Property other than real estate, including bank accounts, securities, vehicles, furniture, jewelry, art, collectibles, household goods, and other movable or intangible assets.
Personal Representative
A broad term for the person authorized to administer an estate, including an executor or administrator.
Personalty
Another term for personal property; it may refer to tangible personal items or personal property generally, depending on context.
Pour-Over Will
A will that transfers remaining probate assets into a trust at death.
Power of Appointment
A legal authority allowing someone to direct who receives certain property, often under a trust or will.
Private Investigator
A licensed professional who may be hired in estate or trust matters to locate missing heirs, beneficiaries, witnesses, assets, or other information needed for administration or settlement.
Probate
The court-supervised process for validating a will, appointing a fiduciary, collecting assets, paying debts and taxes, and distributing property.
Probate Asset
Property titled solely in the decedent’s name without a beneficiary designation, survivorship feature, or trust ownership.
Probate Attorney / Estate Attorney
A lawyer who advises on wills, trusts, probate, estate administration, fiduciary duties, beneficiary rights, estate disputes, and related tax or transfer issues.
Probate Clerk / Probate Court Clerk
A court staff member or office that receives probate filings, maintains probate case records, issues certified copies, processes forms, and assists with court procedure, without providing legal advice.
Probate Court
The court that oversees wills, estates, guardianships, conservatorships, and related matters, depending on state law.
Q
Qualified Appraiser
An appraiser with appropriate credentials, experience, and independence to value a particular type of asset.
R
Real Property
Land and interests attached to land, such as houses, buildings, mineral rights, or certain easements.
Receipts and Disbursements
Money or property received and paid out by the estate or trust during administration.
Refunding Bond and Release
A document signed by a beneficiary acknowledging receipt of a distribution, releasing the fiduciary from certain claims, and agreeing to return funds if needed to satisfy later estate debts, taxes, expenses, or adjustments.
Remainder Beneficiary
A person or entity entitled to receive trust property after a prior interest ends, such as after the death of a lifetime beneficiary.
Residuary Estate
The remaining estate property after specific gifts, debts, expenses, and taxes are paid.
Revocable Trust
A trust that the grantor can generally amend or revoke during life.
S
Sale of Estate Assets
The process of selling estate property to raise cash, pay debts, divide value among beneficiaries, or simplify administration.
Self-Proving Will
A will accompanied by notarized witness affidavits or a statutory self-proving clause, allowing the probate court to accept the will without requiring witnesses to appear and testify in many cases.
Settlor
Another term for the person who creates or funds a trust; also called a grantor or trustor.
Small Estate Affidavit
A simplified procedure available in many states for transferring smaller estates without full probate.
Special Administrator
A temporary fiduciary appointed by the court to protect or manage estate assets before a general personal representative is appointed.
Specific Bequest
A gift of a particular item or amount, such as a named bank account, piece of jewelry, vehicle, or dollar amount.
Spendthrift Trust
A trust designed to restrict a beneficiary’s ability to transfer or pledge trust interests and to limit creditor access, subject to law.
Step-Up in Basis
A tax concept under which many inherited assets receive a new basis equal to fair market value at death, potentially reducing capital gain on later sale.
Successor Trustee
A person or institution that takes over as trustee when the original trustee resigns, dies, becomes incapacitated, or is removed.
Surety Bond
A bond that protects an estate, trust, court, or beneficiaries if a fiduciary fails to perform required duties or mishandles assets.
Surrogate
In some jurisdictions, especially New York and New Jersey, a judicial officer or county official associated with probate, estate administration, guardianship, and related matters.
Surrogate Court / Surrogate’s Court
A probate-related court in certain states that handles wills, estates, guardianships, administration of assets, and related proceedings.
T
Tangible Personal Property
Physical personal property such as furniture, jewelry, artwork, clothing, tools, vehicles, and household items.
Tax Basis
The value used to calculate gain or loss on sale of an asset.
Testamentary Trust
A trust created under a will and generally effective after death through probate.
Testate
Dying with a valid will.
Testator
A person who makes a will.
Trust
A fiduciary arrangement in which a trustee holds and manages property for the benefit of one or more beneficiaries.
Trust Administration
The process of managing, investing, accounting for, and distributing trust assets according to the trust document and applicable law.
Trust Corpus
The property or principal held in a trust.
Trustee
The fiduciary responsible for holding, managing, investing, and distributing trust property for beneficiaries.
Trustor
Another term for the person who creates a trust; often used interchangeably with settlor or grantor.
W
Will
A legal document that directs how a person’s probate property should be distributed after death and may name an executor, guardian, or other fiduciary.
Will Registry
A public or private system for recording the existence or location of a will, so it can be found after death; a registry usually does not replace the original signed will.
Witness
A person who observes the signing of a legal document, such as a will, and may later confirm that the document was signed properly.