Legal Terminology
The legal terminology connected to wills and codicils can be confusing. Below are definitions of some common terms. However please note that these definitions are for guidance only and do not constitute legal advice. We strongly recommend that you seek professional advice regarding matters of a legal or financial nature.
Administrator
Someone who is appointed by law to settle your affairs if you die without having made a Will (intestate).
Beneficiary
Any person to whom you leave a gift in your Will or any organisation to which you leave a gift in your Will.
Bequest
In the UK it generally refers to a specific legacy of a particular object (e.g. a specified painting rather than £500). Overseas it describes any type of legacy.
Chattels
Personal belongings, including jewellery, furniture, wine, pictures, books and cars, but not money, investments, property or business assets.
Child
In Will or intestacy matters, includes the adopted and illegitimate children of the person who has died, but not their stepchildren - unless they are specifically mentioned. Legacies are often left in trust for children until they are 18 or 21 or 25, rather than the legal limit of 16.
Codicil
A document making a change or an addition to an existing Will. It must comply with the same formalities as the Will. It should be filed with, but not attached to, the original Will.
Common-law Spouse
A common-law spouse has no automatic legal rights to be an executor or beneficiary in English law, although a dependent partner who lived with the person who died for two years before their death may be able to claim a share of the estate. Registered civil partners have legal rights from December 2005.
The Crown
Where the money goes (your estate) if you have no next of kin and did not make a Will - in reality it means HM Treasury.
Devise
A gift of a house or a piece of land.
Estate
The total value of everything you own at your death - including all houses, cars, investments, money and belongings - less any outstanding debts or commitments.
Executor(s)
The person(s) you choose to implement your Will after your death. Usually you will have one or two (in England the maximum is four).
Funeral Arrangements
Directions you can give in your Will (or a non-binding letter of wishes to your executors) regarding your wishes such as details of your burial, funeral service, In memoriam gifts to charity in lieu of flowers, etc.
Inheritance Tax (IHT)
A 40% tax payable on larger estates, currently those valued over £312,000 in 2008-09. Legacies to charities are free of inheritance tax.
For more details see Inheritance Tax.
Intestacy/Intestate
The legal term for the situation that arises when someone dies without making a legally valid Will. The estate is then distributed according to a fixed legal formula.
Issue
All the direct descendants of a person - children, grandchildren and so on.
Legacy
A gift or bequest in a Will. It can be money, property, stocks and shares or possessions.
The most common types of gift are:
Specific Gift - a gift of a specified object, e.g. a particular car, property or piece of jewellery.
Pecuniary Gift - a gift of a specific sum of money.
Residuary Gift - a gift of the whole, or part, of the residue of your estate. The Residue is what is left after Specific and Pecuniary gifts and any debts, taxes and expenses have been paid.
Letter of Administration
The document issued to the administrators by the Probate Registry to authorise them to deal with the estate.
Letter of Wishes
A non-binding side letter to your executors setting out what you would generally prefer to happen when you die (e.g. funeral arrangements, gifts to charity), but giving them discretion to settle the details that are appropriate in the circumstances. Any such letter should be filed with the Will, but not attached to it.
Life Interest
The right to receive the income or benefit from a property or capital sum (but not the capital sum itself) for life.
Minor
A person under 18 years of age.
Next of Kin
In Will or intestacy matters, the person entitled to the estate when someone dies intestate (without a Will).
Personal Estate
All the investments and belongings of a person, apart from land and buildings.
Probate
The legal process after death to establish that your Will is valid. If it is, the Probate Registry will give a Grant of Probate to the executors to authorise them to carry out the terms of the Will. If it is not valid or the person died intestate, an administrator is appointed.
Probate Registry
A court within the Family Division of the High Court that deals with probate and administration matters. The Principal Registry is in London and there are district registries in other cities and some large towns. It checks the validity of all Wills and registers them in a central database.
For more information, see www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/cms/wills.htm
Proving a Will
Making the application for probate to the Probate Registry.
Real Estate
Land and buildings owned by a person.
Residue
What is left to share out after all the debts, taxes, expenses, specific bequests and pecuniary legacies have been paid. See also Legacy.
Reversionary Interest
The right to receive a legacy once any “Life Interest” in it has expired.
Testator
The person making the Will. The Female form is Testatrix.
Trust
An arrangement you can make in your Will to administer part of your assets after your death. For more complicated Trust provisions, you should contact a local solicitor who specialises in trusts and probate.
Witness
Two witnesses must see you sign your Will and you must also watch both of them sign it. They must also watch each other sign the Will. No beneficiary (or their spouse) should sign the Will; if they do, any gift to them or their spouse will be invalid and will fail.