administration |
the management and settling of an estate |
administrator |
a person appointed by a court to settle the estate of a deceased person who has died without leaving a valid will |
affidavit |
a signed Written statement sworn before a notary or other court officer |
assignee |
one to whom some right, privilege, or property is signed over by the court |
assignor |
one who signs over the title or interest in some-thing (e.g., a part or whole of an estate) to another in-dividual or party |
bequest |
commonly used to denote a gift of real estate by will; also a legacy |
bound land |
land given by the government to induce men to enter military service; it usually consisted of a specific number of acres of previously unallocated public land |
bound land warrant |
a gift of bounty land due a person, his heirs, or assigns and entitled by military service |
canon law |
a law or statute of the church |
codicil |
document created by the testator to amend his/her will |
collateral ancestor |
an ancestor not in direct line of ascent, but of the same ancestral stock (e.g. the brother or sister of a direct ancestor) |
consanguinity |
relation by blood; descended from a common ancestor |
decedent |
a deceased person |
deed |
a formal written instrument, signed, sealed, and delivered according to law and conveying title to real estate |
denizen |
a person who has been admitted to residence in a foreign country |
deposition |
the testimony of a witness in writing and duly authenticated, given in the course of a legal proceeding |
descendant |
one who is descended, however remotely, from another |
devise |
to grant real property by will |
devisee |
one to whom real property is given by will |
direct heir |
one who is an individual's direct line of ascent or descent |
dower |
the legal right of a wife to use or own some portion of her husband's real estate, should she survive him |
escheat |
reverting of property to the state upon the death of an owner without heirs |
estate |
the property of a deceased person: a right, title, or interest in that property |
Et Uxer (Et. Ux.) |
and wife |
executor |
the person named in a will and appointed by a court to carry out the provisions of the will |
executrix |
feminine form of executor |
fee simple |
an estate of inheritance in land, absolute and without limitation to any particular class of heirs |
fee tail |
an estate of inheritance in land, limited to a partic-ular class of heirs |
freeholder |
a person who held land in fee simple. He had the right to vote and hold public office |
grant |
a term used in deeds for transferring title to real property |
grantee |
one to whom a grant is made |
grantor |
one who makes a grant (e.g. transfers title to real property) |
guardian |
a person appointed by a court to care for the property and rights of a minor or someone otherwise incapable of administering his own affairs |
heir |
a person who by descent or right of relationship inherits an estate upon the death of his ancestor |
holographic will |
a will entirely in the handwriting of the testator |
imprimis |
"first of all" |
indenture |
any deed, written contract, or sealed agreement; a contract by which a person, as an apprentice, is bound over for service; the formal agreement between a group of bondholders and the debtor as to the terms of the debt |
infant |
a person not of legal age; a minor |
intestate |
a person who has died without having left a valid will or otherwise disposed of his real and personal property |
inventory |
a list of goods or valuables in the estate of a, deceased person, filed in probate court by an executor or administer |
kindred |
persons related by blood |
legacy |
a gift by will |
lineal descendant |
a person in the direct line of descent |
Notorial (Authentic) Will |
will made by the testator before a Notary It is retained in the Notary's file until the testator's death |
nuncupative will |
an oral or unwritten will, declared by the testator in his last sickness and in the presence of wit-nesses, and later reduced to writing by someone other than the testator |
personal property |
all property other than real property |
posthumous |
born after the death of a parent |
primogeniture |
condition of being the first-born child of the same parents; in law, the right of inheritance by the eldest son |
probate |
the process of proving a will |
relicit |
a widow; sometimes (rarely) used to mean a widower |
sibling |
a brother or sister; all children of the same parents |
spouse |
a husband or wife |
trustee |
a person to whom another's property or the manage ment of another's property is given in trust |
testament |
the disposition of one's personal property by will |
will |
the legal document containing the statement of a person's wishes regarding the disposal of his property after his death |
Details Of Will |
adoption & guardianship |
name of the child(ren), parents, guardian(s) or foster parents; age and sex of child(ren); residences of the parties involved; inheritance(s); and guardians' bond. |
bond |
name of the administrator or executor(s), bondsmen, the deceased; amount and date of bond. |
case file |
copy of will; inventory of estate; copies of the court order; miscellaneous letters and papers pertaining to the probate action. |
docket, calendar or index |
date of court action; name(s) of executor(s) or administrator(s), and of the deceased; reference to the order book and case files. |
order book |
court order; date of order; name(s) of executor(s) or administrator(s); identification of the estate. |
will |
date of will; name of testator; name(s) and relationship(s) of heir(s) (if any); description of property and its deposition; name(s) of executor(s) and witnesses; date of probate. |
