Probate – A to Z of common terms
A
Administrator: an individual appointed by the court who is responsible for administering the estate of someone who has died. An administrator is usually appointed where the deceased’s will does not appoint an Executor or where the deceased died without leaving a Will.
Assets: property and possessions owned by the deceased.
B
Beneficiary: people or organisations (such as a charity, for instance) who are entitled to a share of, or a gift from the deceased’s estate.
Bequest: A gift of property or money in a Will.
C
Capital Gains Tax (CGT): a tax paid on the gain made from the sale of an asset, such as property and shares.
Codicil: A short addition or change to an existing Will executed in the same way as a Will. It may, for example, appoint an additional executor or provide for an additional beneficiary of the estate.
Chattels: any personal belongings including cars, jewellery, collections and household items such as antiques, paintings, furniture etc. Money, property and investments are not included as part of a person’s chattels.
Civil partner: Someone with whom the deceased had registered a same sex Civil Partnership under the Civil Partnership Act 2004.
Crown: Crown is another term for the government. If a person dies without making a Will and has no next of kin, ultimately the Crown will receive the whole estate.
Confirmation: The Scottish term for Probate.
Contingent: Where an event must happen before a gift can be made, for example the beneficiary must reach a certain age.
D
Death Certificate: the official document declaring the cause of death, the date and location of death. This is the proof of the deceased’s passing.
E
Estate: an estate is the deceased’s property made up of all assets in their sole name; their shares in any jointly owned assets and other assets, for example, those held in a trust in which they had an interest on death.
Exempt estate: the estate of a deceased person where inheritance tax is not due and an inheritance tax account is not required.
Executor: The individual named in a Will to administer the deceased’s estate on their death and carry out their wishes as set out in the provisions of the Will.
G
Grant of Probate: This is the legal document issued to the Executors of the Will by the Probate Registry, granting them the legal authority to deal with a deceased’s estate.
Guardian: The people nominated in a Will to look after any children under the age of 18 in the event of their parent’s death.
H
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC): ?the Government department that officially collects taxes, including inheritance tax and capital gains tax.
I
Inheritance Tax (IHT): IHT is the tax payable on someone’s estate after they die if the value of the estate exceeds the IHT threshold (also known as the Nil Rate Band). Where the value of the estate is worth more than the IHT threshold, the excess is taxed at 40 per cent.
Intestate: when a person dies without a valid Will they are known to have died ‘intestate’ and their estate will be distributed according to the statutory Rules of Intestacy (see below). Intestate is also used to describe where a person dies with a Will but the Will does not dispose of all of their property.
L
Legacy: A gift of money or personal property given to a named individual or organisation under the terms of a Will.
Letters of Administration: This is the legal document issued by the Probate Registry to the administrator of an estate of a person who has died Intestate.
Life interest: A gift that gives someone the right to the income generated from an asset or the right to occupation of a property for the duration of their life, after which the asset or property passes to an alternative nominated beneficiary.
P
Pecuniary legacy: A gift to a beneficiary of a sum of money under a Will.
Personal Representative(s) (PRs): The individual(s) responsible for dealing with the estate of someone who has died, whether or not they left a valid Will.
Probate Registry: A specialist court that deals with legal matters relating to Probate and the administration of estates.
R
Registrar: An official of the local authority who deals with matters relating to a death so that a formal death certificate can be issued, after which the funeral can take place. The registrar also deals with the registration of births and marriages.
Rules of Intestacy: When someone dies intestate, strict inheritance laws called the Rules of Intestacy apply. These rules determine who administers and who will inherit from the deceased’s estate and in what proportions. The beneficiaries will be determined by the deceased’s closest surviving next of kin in a strict order of priority.
Find out more about probate services and what everything means, from executor to the rules of intestacy and everything in between, from a trained legal advisor.
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