Administrator, Administratrix (also known as Personal Representative) –
Person or institution appointed by the court to manage and distribute the estate of a person who dies without a will.
Beneficiary — Person named to receive property or benefits.
Codicil — An addition or supplement made to change or add provisions to a will.
Contingent beneficiary — Receiver of property or benefits if first-named beneficiary dies
before receiving all benefits.
Contract — Legally enforceable agreement.
Decedent — A deceased person.
Devise — To give real or Personal Property.
Estate — Everything a person owns, all real and personal property owned.
Executor, Executrix (also known as Personal Representative) — A person or
institution named in the will to carry out the provisions and directions of the will.
Intestate — A person who dies without making a valid will.
Legatee — Person who receives personal property under a will.
Levied — To collect by assessment.
Lien — A charge upon property, real or personal, for the satisfaction of a debt.
Personal property — Intangible property, such as stocks, bonds, or bank accounts; and tangible property such as furniture, automobile, jewelry.
Probate — Official proof of the genuineness of a will.
Real property — Land and buildings.
Surrogate — A judicial officer who has jurisdiction over the probate of wills in the absence of a contest and acts as the Clerk of the Probate Court in the settlement of estates, guardianships, and trusts.
Tenants in common — Two or more persons owning individual interests in property.
Testator, Testatrix — The person who makes a will.
Trust — Property owned and managed by one person for the benefit of another.
Trustee — Person or institution holding property in trust.
Waiver — A legal instrument relinquishing a right or lien.
Will — A legal declaration of the manner in which a person wishes his estate divided after death.
Witness — Person who observes the signing of a will and also attests to the signatures. Strong track record of successful result.