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Letters of Administration

This is the legal document people use to bequeath (leave as a gift) money and property when they die.

A gift in a will which fails because the item no longer exists.

Person appointed to manage an estate of someone who has died without a Will

A will which can be changed because its maker is still alive.

A document used by personal representatives to transfer property to a beneficiary.

Something owned such as a building, a vehicle or money in the bank.

To sign as a witness a signature on a document.

Person who benefits under a will.

A will which only becomes effective if a stated event happens.

Gift in a will which relies on a particular event happening.

Alteration to an existing will.

Another name for leasehold land.

Tangible goods such as furniture, clothes, watches and so on.

A chattel is any property except freehold land.

Gift in a will, other than land or real property.

To leave freehold property or land in a will.

A trust set up so that the trustees decide who will benefit from the trust and how much they will get.

This is everything a person owns when they die.

This is someone appointed by a person's will to deal with the person's estate when they die, according to the wishes set out in the will.

land which is freehold no one else has any rights over the land.

This is a certificate proving that the executors are entitled to deal with the estate and issued by the Probate Registry.

Guardian looks after the interests of people who cannot look after their own affairs, such as children or people with mental health problems.

This is a tax the Government charges on people's estates.

When someone dies without leaving a valid will. Their estate is divided up between their relatives following the rules set by law.

Leave something in a will.

This is the ground, the buildings built on it, the subsoil below the ground, property fixed to the ground, and the airspace above the ground necessary for its ordinary use.

A gift left to someone in a will.

A document recording the court's permission for the administrator to deal with a dead person's property and pay the debts and legacies.

This is all property except land.

This is a person who has been appointed to deal with a dead person's estate. If there is a will, the executors appointed will be the personal representatives. If there is no will, the courts will appoint someone called the administrator.

This is the certificate giving authority to deal with someone's estate. When someone has died and left a will, the executors of the estate apply to the court for this authority.

This is part of the Family Division of the High Court of Justice. It issues the certificate called probate.

When someone has died the Probate Registry supplies the forms to obtain probate. The executors have to fill in the forms to apply to get the document (probate) from the Probate Court which confirms that the executors have been appointed and that the will is valid.

This is everything a person owns.

This is land and buildings, minerals in the land and rights over the land.

This is all that is left of an estate after all debts, taxes and specific legacies have been paid. It will be shared out according to the instructions in the will.

To revoke something is to cancel it or withdraw it.

This is an item left in a will which can be identified and be given to the beneficiary.

Person making a will.

This is an arrangement under which property is held by named people for someone else.

This is a person who holds property and looks after it on behalf of someone else.

If two or more people have identical shares in land they are joint tenants.

Contingent will

Discretionary trust

Grant of probate

Inheritance tax

Chattels personal

Personal property

Ambulatory will

Personal representative

Probate Registry

Testator/Testatrix

Real property/realty

Contingent legacy