chapters 26-28

per stirpes

( by right of representation) means that the children of any deceased heirs inherit their deceased parents share.

per capita

(per head) means that heads are counted and all living issue share the amount of the gift equally.

pretermitted child

A child who is omitted by a testator from a will.

paternity proceeding,affiliation proceeding

A court action to determine whether a person is the father of a child born out of wedlock. Also called affiliation proceeding.

decedent

A deceased person.

Ordinary,Orphan's,Prerogative,Probate and Family,Surrogate's Court

A name given, in some states, to the court that exercises the function of settling decedents' estates.

administrator d.b.n.,administrator de bonis non

A person appointed by the court to complete the settlement of an estate in which a previously appointed administrator has died, resigned, or been removed. (d.b.n. is an abbreviation for de bonis non.)

ancillary administrator

A person appointed by the court to handle the affairs of a decedent in a foreign state.

special administrator

A person appointed by the court to handle the affairs of an estate for a limited time only to take care of urgent affairs.

administrator d.b.n.c.t.a.,administrator de bonis non cum testamento annexo

A person appointed by the court to take the place of a previously appointed executor who has died, resigned, or been removed. (d.b.n.c.t.a. is an abbreviation for de bonis non cum testamento annexo.)

successor personal representative

A person appointed to succeed a previously appointed personal representative.

executor de son tort

A person who performs the duties of an executor without authority to do so.

voluntary administrator

A person who undertakes the informal administration of a small estate.

fiduciary capacity

A position of trust.

half-blood

A relatives who has one parent in common with another relative, but not both.

forced share, elective share

A statutory sum given to a surviving spouse who disclaims the provisions made for him or her in a deceased spouse's will.

will contest

A suit over the allowance or disallowance of a will.

forced heir

A surviving spouse who elects to disclaim the provisions of a deceased spouse's will.

administrator pendente lite

A temporary administrator appointed by the court to protect estate assets when there is a will contest.

full age,majority

Adulthood.

administrator ad litem

An administrator appointed by the court to represent the interests of an estate in an action.

legal fiction

An assumption, for purposes of justice, of a fact that does not exist.

life estate

An estate limited in duration to either the life of the owner or the life of another person.

summary administration

An informal method used to settle estates that do not exceed $30,000.

public administrator

An official who administers the estate of a person who dies intestate when no relative, heir, or other person appears who is entitled to act as administrator.

dower

At common law, the right of a widow to a life estate in one-third of all real property owned by her husband during coverture.

curtesy

At common law, the right of a widower, if issue of the marriage were born alive, to a life estate in all real property owned by his wife during coverture.

kindred

Blood relatives.

bastards,illegitimate children, nonmarital children.

Children born out of wedlock.

vested

Fixed or absolute; not contingent.

homestead exemption

In bankruptcy, the exemption of one's residence up to a specific amount.

coverture

Marriage.

next friend

One acting for the benefit of an infant in bringing a legal action.

adoptive parents

Parents who adopt a child.

lineal ascendants

People who are in a direct line of ascent upward from the decedent—parents, grandparents, and great grandparents.

lineal descendants

People who are in a direct line of descent downward from the decedent—children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.

coparceners

Persons to whom an estate of inheritance descends jointly and by whom it is held as an entire estate (early English law).

homestead

Property that is beyond the reach of creditors' and others' claims as long as the family uses the property as a home.

disinheritance

Purposely omitted from a will.

collateral relatives

Relatives not in a direct line, such as brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, uncles, aunts, and cousins.

descent

Succession to the ownership of real property by inheritance (early English law).

intestate succession

The act or process of an heir's becoming beneficially entitled to the property of one who has died without a will.

distribution

The apportionment and division of the personal property of an intestate among his or her heirs (early English law).

attestation clause

The clause in a will that precedes the witnesses signatures.

degree of kindred

The determination of the respective relationships between a decedent and his or her relatives, undertaken to measure who are most nearly related by blood.

personal representative

The executor or administrator of a deceased person.

adoption

The legal process in which a child's legal rights and duties toward his or her natural parents are replaced by similar rights and duties toward his or her adopting parents.

escheat

The reversion of property to the state if the property owner dies without heirs.

primogeniture

The state of being the first born among several children of the same parents (early English law).

intestacy

The state of having died without having made a valid will.

intestate

The state of having made no valid will.

next of kin

Those most nearly related by blood.

descendants

Those who are of the bloodstream (including adopted children) of a common ancestor.

probate

To prove and have allowed by the court; usually, of a will.

waive a spouse's will

To renounce or disclaim a spouse's will.

administrator

a MAN APPOINTED by the court to administer the estate of an intestate decedent.

administratrix

a WOMEN APPOINTED by the court to administer the estate of an intestate decedent.

self proving affidavit

a clause in a will containing a affidavit that allows the will to be recognized by the court without the testimony of witnesses.

in terrorem or no contest clause

a clause in a will that attempts to disinherit any legatee, devisee, or beneficiary who contests the provisions of the will.

guardian ad litem

a guardian appointed by a court to protect a minor who brings or defends a lawsuit.

executor

a man nominated in a will of a decedent to carry out the terms of the will a personal representative of an estate.

fiduciary

a person in position of trust , such as an executor, administrator, guardian, or trustee.

domicile

a person principal place of abode; the place to which, whenever a person is absent , he or she has the present intent of returning.

trustee

a person who holds property in trust for another.

executrix

a women nominated in a will of a decedent to carry out the terms of the will a personal representative of an estate.

bond

a written instrument promising the payment of a sum of money if certain duties are not performed.

administrator cum testamento annexo , administrator with the will annexed,

administrator c.t.a . administrator w.w.a, A person appointed by the court to administer a testate estate in which no executor is nominated or in which the executor has died or for some reason does not settle the estate.

per fraudem

by fruad

per se

by itself

per

by, through, by way of, by means of

incorporation by reference

making a document part of another document by referring to it in the second document and stating the intention of including it.

conservator,guardian

one who legally has the care and management of the property, but not the person, of someone who is incompetent.

surety

one who undertakes to stand behind another- that is, pay money or do any other act in the event that his or her principal fails to meet an obligation.

signature or testimonium clause

the clause in a will that precedes the testator signature.

dispositive clauses

the clause in a will that states exactly what each beneficiary will receive.

residuary clause

the clause in the will that disposes of all of the testators property not otherwise given out.

residuary estate

the estate remaining after individual items have been given out by a will.

exordium or publication clause.

the introductory paragraph of a will.

"ad" means

to or towards ad,a,ac,af,ag,an,ap,ar,as,at.

"co" means

together col,com,con,cor