NJS Lesson 6 Vocab

Devise

A bequest or to bequeath.

Attestation Clause

A clause at the end of a will by a which witness verify or certify that the will was properly executed.

Abatement

A decrease in the legacies because there is not enough money in the estate to pay the full amount. The legacies are usually decreased proportionately.

Letters of authority

A document issued by the probate court appointing a person as executor/executrix, or personal representative, of an estate.

Will

A legal document that expresses how one wants property disposed of upon his or her death. Also referred to as a last will and testament.

Executor (male); Executrix (female)

A person named by a testator or testatrix to carry out the directions as stated in a will. Referred to in some states as a personal representative.

Testate

A person who dies leaving a legal and valid will. If one dies leaving a will, he or she is said to die testate.

Intestate

A person who dies without a will. If one dies without a will, then he or she is said to have died intestate.

Administrator (male); Administratrix (female)

A person who is appointed by the court to administer or take charge of an estate.

Testator (Male); Testatrix (Female)

A person who makes a will or a person who dies that has made a will.

Nuncupative will

A will made in anticipation of immediate death that is stated orally before other persons and later put in written form.

Holographic will

A will that is in the handwriting of the one making it.

Petition for probate

A written application to a court that has jurisdiction over probate matters requesting that a will be admitted to probate.

Durable power of attorney

A written power of attorney giving someone the power to act for a person if he or she becomes disabled. To be valid, it must be signed prior to a person becoming disabled.

Creditor's claim

A written request for the payment of a bill from the estate of the deceased.

Tangible property

Any article of personal property. Does not include real estate. Previously referred to as a chattel.

Hereditaments

Any kind of property that may be inherited.

Living will

Commands an action while a person is still living. It is a means by which people can set limits on the efforts to keep them alive beyond the point they would choose themselves.

Animus testandi

Latin. The intention to make a will. Essential to a valid will.

Estate

Property of any kind that one owns and can dispose of in a will.

Codicil

Something added to a will that changes or modifies it in some way. A codicil may be added to change a part of a will so that the entire will will not have to be redone.

Bequest

Something that is given to another by a will. Usually money or personal property.

Residuary estate

The estate remaining after debts,expenses, and specific bequests have been settled.

Publication

The formal declaration made by a testator or testatrix at the time a will is signed stating that it is his or her last will and testament.

Bequeath

The giving of something, such as personal property or money, to another by a will.

Testamentary capacity

The mental ability and capacity required by law to be sufficient for one to make a valid will.

Probate

The official proving of a will as being valid or genuine. In a broader sense, it refers to all matters over which a probate court has jurisdiction.