Charitable Remainder Trust: A trust in which property or money is donated to a charity but the grantor continues to use the property and/or receive income from it while living
Conservator: A court order that some property or a person is subject to the legal control of another person or entity.
Custodian: Person named to manage assets left to a minor under the Uniform Transfer to Minors Act.
Decedent: A person who creates a will. Durable Power of Attorney for asset management: A legal document that gives another person full or limited legal authority to sign your name on your behalf in your absence. Valid through incapacity, ends at death.
Durable Power of Attorney for health care: A legal document that lets you give someone else the authority to make health care decisions for you in the event you are unable to make them for yourself. The document is also known as a health care proxy or medical power of attorney.
Estate tax: The estate tax return is due nine months after the date of death. A six month extension is available if requested prior to the due date and the estimated correct amount of tax is paid before the due date.
Executor: The person appointed to execute the directions of a will Heir or Beneficiary: One who inherits or is entitled to inherit property or receive the income of a trust estate
Holographic Will: A handwritten will. Intestate: When someone dies without a will and the law of your state determines what happens to your estate and your minor children. Irrevocable: An irrevocable living trust may not be altered or terminated by the trustor once the agreement is signed.
Joint tenants with right of survivorship: A form of joint ownership in which the deceased owner’s share automatically and immediately transfers to the surviving joint tenant(s).
Trust: A trust is a legal arrangement in which a grantor gives control of his or her property to a trust, which is administered by a "trustee" for the "beneficiary's" benefit
Inter vivos: Latin adjective for among the living. The term refers to the transfer of property by agreement between living persons and not by a gift through a will. Gross estate: The total value of an estate before debts are settled.
Grantor, Settlor or Trustor: The creator of the trust Legacy Trust: Commonly referred to as a "Wealth Trust," a third-party irrevocable trust that helps one create a second, protected estate. Living trust: A trust created during the lifetime of the grantor that allows control of the distribution of the estate
Living Will: A written document that states you do not wish to be kept alive by artificial means when the illness or injury is terminal.
Per stirpes: A way of distributing your estate so that your surviving descendents will receive only what their immediate ancestor would have received if he/she had been living at your death.
Probate: Probate is the legal process of settling the estate of a deceased person.
Retainer: Money paid before the attorney starts working on your case.
Revocable: A revocable living trust allows the grantor the freedom to make changes in the trust.
Spendthrift Clause: Protects assets in a trust from a beneficiary’s creditors. Testamentary trust: A trust created as part of a will and becomes effective upon the death of the person making the will. Testate: When someone dies with a will.
Testator: The person who wrote a will. The female term is testatrix.
Totten Trust: A bank account that will transfer to the beneficiary who was named when the account was established. The terms "transfer on death" ("TOD"), "in trust for" ("ITF"), "as trustee for" ("ATF"), and "pay on death" ("POD") often appear in the title.
Trustee: The manager of the trust Unified Credit: The amount each person is allowed to deduct from any federal estate taxes owed after death. In 2007 and 2008, the credit is $780,800, which is the amount of estate taxes owed on the first $2 million in assets.
Will: A will is a legal document that dictates how to distribute your property after your death.
