Estate Planning Terms and Definitions

Decedent
A person who has died.

Federal Estate Taxes
Taxes imposed by the US Government on the value of a person's estate upon his or her death.

Personal Property
Movable property, including furniture, antiques, automobiles, business equipment, cash and stocks. Compare with Real Property.

Interlineation
Something written in-between; often a change to a typed document that is made by crossing out words and entering in replacement words. Never change an executed will or trust by interlineation.

Estate
The total of all assets, all debts and other obligations of an individual. At the time of death the total amount of benefits (life insurance, annuity and retirement benefits) to be paid to beneficiaries are often also considered part of the estate for Federal Estate Tax purposes

Informed Consent
An authorization to proceed by a person who has been given and understands all of the relevant facts.

Incapacity / Incompetent
Legally unable to manage one's own affairs due to mental disability. This may be temporary or permanent.

Trust
A long recognized legal concept (first used in ancient Greece during the times of Socrates and Plato) in which some or all property of a Trust Creator is held on behalf of a beneficiary (which may include the trust creator) in the name of the Trustee.

Probate
The process through which the legal title to property is transferred from a decedent to the beneficiaries. If a person dies with a will (testate), the probate court determines if the will is valid, hears any objections to the will, orders that creditors be paid and supervises the process to assure that property is distributed by the Personal Representative or Executor according to the terms of the will. If a person dies without a will (intestate) the probate court appoints an Administrator who receives all claims, pays creditors, and then distributes all property according to the laws of the state.

Tenancy-in-Common
A form of ownership of property in which two or more persons share ownership (may be equal or unequal shares). At the death of a tenant-in-common, his/her share in the property transfers to his/her heirs, rather than to the other surviving owner(s). Compare with Joint Tenancy.