Glossary
Who's Who and What's What
abatement
If an estate does not have enough money to pay out all of the gifts, the amount of each gift is reduced - abated - proportionately to accommodate the actual size of the estate.
administrator
The individual appointed by the Probate Registry to deal with an intestate estate. Administrators are roughly equivalent to executors, except that executors are named in the will, and executor responsibilities begin immediately after the death. Administrators gain authority only after being appointed by Probate officials.
attestation clause
The phrase that identifies the testator and the witnesses, and their signatures.
bequest, bequeath
Gift of, say, cash or a wristwatch but not of land. See 'devise'.
bona vacantia
Literally 'vacant goods;' it refers to ownerless property which reverts to the Crown if beneficiaries can not be located.
common-law marriage
So-called 'common-law marriages' have no legal force.
commorientes
Two people die simultaneously or in conditions where the order of death can not be determined, usually in an accident.
deed of variation
A will that is changed after the death of the testator - or created for someone who dies intestate.
deliberate deprivation
This phrase often crops up in connection with nursing-home fees. Basically, you can not deliberately deprive your estate of assets to avoid paying care-home fees. If you are deemed to have done so, the funds are treated as if they are still part of your estate.
devise
Gift specifically of land. See 'bequest'.
domicile
Domicile literally refers to a home or dwelling place. In tax and inheritance matters, different kinds of domicile are recognised. Domicility is a matter of choice, sometimes yours, sometimes that of the tax inspector. The domicility of a spouse/civil partner can also be a relevant factor.
enduring power of attorney
Still valid if prepared prior to 1 October 2007. An EPA authorises another person to act on your behalf. EPAs have been replaced with a Lasting Power of Attorney.
excepted estate
No inheritance tax is due, and no IHT account has to be prepared, for estates that are below the IHT threshold (HMRC says that such estates are "likely" to be excepted). There are two other types of excepted estates exempt and foreign domiciliaries. 'Foreign domiciliaries' refers to foreign deceased individuals who lived outside the UK and with estates whose gross value in the UK does not exceed £150,000. See 'exempt estate'.
executor
The person(s) nominated by the testator to deal with and distribute the estate. Two or three executors are usually named, to a maximum of four. Executors can refuse to accept the position.
exempt estate
No IHT due because the gross value of the estate does not top £1m, and there is a spouse/civil partner exemption, a charity exemption, or both.
forced heirship
In most European countries, Scotland and elsewhere, certain individuals - usually children - have a right to inherit regardless of what a will might say. In England and Wales (and Northern Ireland) testators are generally free to leave their assets as they wish. Most European countries limit that right, and the laws vary from country to country.
half blood
A relationship in which the biological link is with one, not both, parents. 'Half blood' differs from 'whole blood,' where the biological link is to both parents.
joint will
A joint will is a single testamentary document that refers to the possessions of more than one person; see also mirror will and mutual will
lasting power of attorney
From 1 October 2007, LPAs replaced Enduring Powers of Attorney. One kind of LPA concerns property and financial matters; another concerns personal welfare, especially health.
last will and testament
Historically 'will' refers to real property and 'testament' to personal property in traditional Anglo-American law.
legacy, legatee
Property or money willed to someone. The person receiving the legacy is the legatee.
living will
Adults with mental capacity can specify in advance that they want, or do not want, to have medical treatment in the future. The way to indicate your wishes is to make a living will. Living wills can include general statements about your wishes, which are not legally binding, and specific refusals of treatment called 'advanced decisions' or 'advance directives'.
mirror wills
'Mirror wills' are two distinct but identical wills; see also joint will and mutual will.
mutual wills
Mutual wills are made by two or more people and are binding on each, most particularly the survivor after the first death. Typically, a couple will agree to mutual wills to ensure that the testator's possessions go to his or her children rather than to, say, the eventual new spouse or civil partner of the survivor. Mutual wills are contracts which can not be changed except with the consent of the other parties.
next of kin
Kinship technically refers to nearest blood relative, but in actual usage the term has been extended to include spouses and even close friends.
per stirpes
Latin for 'per branch,' it directs a bequest to an individual and then, if that individual is no longer alive, to that person's children in equal measure. And if those children are dead, the gift continues down the branch to their children (the testator's grandchildren and then great-grandchildren).
probate
The process and the documents involved in authenticating a will.
probate caveat
A written application to the Probate Registry seeking to prevent the granting of probate. A successful caveat application will block probate for six months.
residue
The amount remaining in the estate after expenses (funeral, probate fees, executor expenses, for example), inheritance tax, legacies and specific gifts.
revocation clause
A standard phrase in which the testator revokes all previous wills and codicils. In some circumstances - for example, the testator has a foreign will for assets owned abroad) - it is NOT advisable to revoke ALL previous wills.
statutory legacy
The amount to which a surviving spouse or civil partner is entitled in intestacy.
survivorship clause
The testator leaves a gift to someone provided they survive him or her for a certain number of days, usually 28 or 30.
testator (male), testatrix (female)
The person making the will. Nowadays, a 'testator' can be male or female, although 'testatrix' is still commonly used.
testamentary expenses
Costs involved in dealing with the testator's affairs, such as funeral expenses, probate fees, executor expenses, advertisement notices in newspapers and the like.
whole blood
If people have a 'whole blood' relationship, they have the same parents. Two brothers, two sisters, or a brother and sister, for example, are siblings of the whole blood if they share the same biological parents. The same logic holds for an aunt or uncle, for instance.
" . . . "
'Another will made and destroyed,' he said, 'nothing determined on, nothing done, and I might have died tonight! I plainly see to what foul uses all this money will be put at last,' he cried, almost writhing in the bed: 'after filling me with cares and miseries all my life, it will perpetuate discord and bad passions when I am dead. So it always is. What lawsuits grow out of the graves of rich men, every day: sowing perjury, hatred, and lies where there should have been nothing but love! Heaven help us, we have much to answer for. Oh self, self, self! Every man for himself, and no man for me.'
Charles Dickens, Martin Chuzzlewit (1844)
