Glossary

• Assets - Anything you own that has monetary value.
• Attorney - Someone who is appointed to act on your behalf.
• Beneficial Joint Tenants - A way that two or more people own a property such that, on the death of one owner, the property automatically reverts to the surviving joint owner(s) regardless of any provision in a Will.
• Beneficiary - Any person or organisation who will benefit from something, especially a Trust or a Will.
• Bequest - A gift of property or money by Will.
• Capacity – The ability of a person to understand a situation and be mentally competent to make decisions for themselves.
• Civil Partnership – The legal union of a same sex couple affording similar rights to those for a heterosexual married couple.
• Codicil - A change or addition that you make to your Will. It must also follow the same legal formalities as the original Will.
• Estate - Everything you leave behind at the time of your death. The total of your possessions, property and money after debts have been paid.
• Executor - A person appointed by a Testator or Testatrix to make sure the wishes in their Will are carried out.
• Guardian - A person appointed by the Court and/or provisions in a Will to be responsible for the welfare of a child (under the age of 18) when both parents die.
• Inheritance Tax - A 40% tax payable on the value of an estate above a certain threshold. Strictly the whole estate is taxable but below the threshold it is taxed at 0%. (The Nil Rate Band)
• Intestate - A situation of having died without a valid Will.
• Legacy - A bequest or gift left in a Will. These are debts of assets due from an estate created by the instructions in a Will.
• Life interest - The right of a beneficiary to benefit from part of an estate for their lifetime.
• Memorandum of Wishes – A document containing instructions to the executors of a Will regarding the distribution of assets.
• Mirror Wills – Two Wills that would have the same outcome.
• Nil Rate Band – The Inheritance Tax threshold up to which the tax is chargeable at 0%, currently now £300,000 for an individual and £600,000 for a couple where the entitlement remains unused.
• Personal chattels – Personal and domestic items owned by a testator/testatrix but excluding business assets.
• Probate - The official process of proving that a Will is genuine through The Probate Service, a part of Her Majesty’s Courts Service.
• Residue – What is left of a deceased’s assets after all other debts and bequests have been met.
• Revocation – A clause in a Will invalidating any former Wills.
• Severance – The action of splitting the ownership of a property, usually resulting in joint tenants becoming tenants in common.
• Tenants in Common - A way of owning part of a property that allows the owner to dispose of that part through the provisions of a Will.
• Testator (male) Testatrix (female) - A person who has made a Will.
• Trust - A legal arrangement whereby a person ( a Trustee) is made the nominal owner of property to be held or used for the benefit of one or more others, often children.
• Trustee - An individual or member of a board given powers of administration over property in trust with a legal obligation to administer it solely for the purposes specified.
• Will - A legal document outlining how a person wishes their assets to be distributed after their death.
• Witness - A person present at the signing of a document and signs it themselves to confirm authenticity of part of its contents.