Probate Glossary

Administration – A court-supervised legal process of appointing an administrator, paying a decedent’s debts, and distributing the decedent’s estates in accordance with the laws of intestacy. Other than the fact that no will is involved, administration is very similar to probate and is often referred to loosely as probate.

Administrator/Administratrix – a person appointed by the court to administer an intestate estate. Administrator is the masculine form and administratrix is the feminine form.

Chancery – A term used by some states–like Mississippi–to refer to a court with jurisdiction over probate matters.

Decedent – A deceased person; in the probate context, used to refer to the person whose estate is being administered.

Deed – A document transferring title to real estate and describing each owner’s interest in the real estate.  There are several different forms of deeds (e.g., warranty, special warranty, quitclaim) as well as several different types of ownership of deeded property (e.g., joint tenancy with right of survivorship, tenants in common).

Estate – In the probate context, estate is generally used to refer to everything owned by a person when he or she dies. See probate estate and taxable estate.

Executor/Executrix – A person appointed by a testator to administer a testate estate. Executor is the masculine form and Executrix is the feminine form.

Inter Vivos - The legal term inter vivos is a Latin phrase meaning “between the living.” An inter vivos gift is a transfer of property from one person to another during the lifetime of the original property holder (as opposed to a testamentary transfer, which takes effect at death only).  An inter vivos trust (also called a living trust) is a trust that takes effect during lifetime (as opposed to testamentary trusts, which take effect at death only).

Intestate – A term used to describe a person, estate, or portion of an estate for which there is no valid Last Will and Testament. The estate of a person who dies without a will are distributed according to state law, called intestate law or laws of intestacy.

Joint Tenancy – The key feature of a joint tenancy is the right of survivorship, meaning that the real estate passes to the surviving joint tenant(s) at the death of the predeceased joint tenant(s). For this reason, joint tenancy is sometimes referred to as a joint tenancy with right of survivorship.

Personal Representative – A gender-neutral term some jurisdictions use to refer a person appointed to administer an estate.

Probate – A court-supervised legal process whereby a will is determined to be valid, an executor is appointed, and the decedent’s debts are paid and assets are gathered and distributed according to a will. The counterpart for a person who dies without a will is called an administration.

Probate Estate – The probate estate is the assets or liabilities of a deceased person that are subject to the court-supervised probate process. Not every asset a person owns when he or she dies is included in his or her probate estate. For example, real estate held in joint tenancy with rights of survivorship, assets with named beneficiaries (such as insurance policies, payable on death accounts), and property held in living trusts are not included in the probate estate and do not need to pass through the probate process.

Taxable Estate – a term of art used to describe everything that is included in a person’s estate for federal estate tax purposes. The taxable estate includes the probate estate, but could include other items that are not part of the probate estate, such as life insurance and property held in joint tenancy.

Testamentary – A term used to describe a relation to a Last Will and Testament.  For example, testamentary intent refers to the intent needed to make a will. Testamentary gifts or testamentary transfers refer to gifts or transfers that take place at death (in contrast with inter vivos gifts or transfers, which take place during life).  A testamentary trust is a trust that takes effect at a persons death (in contrast to an inter vivos (living) trust that takes effect during life.

Testate – A term used to describe a person, estate, or portion of an estate for which there is a valid Last Will and Testament. If a person dies with a Will, that person is said to have died testate and his estate will be referred to as a testate estate.

Tenancy in Common – A type of joint ownership in which each tenants’ interest in the property is transferred to their heirs at death. The surviving joint tenants do not automatically take an interest in the deceased joint tenant’s share of the property.

Testator/Testatrix – A person who makes a Will. Testator is the masculine form and Testatrix is the feminine form.