Administrator/Administratrix: person or institution appointed by the court to manage and distribute the estate of person who dies without a will.



Beneficiary: person named to receive property or benefits.



Bequest: gift of personal property by will.



Codicil: an addition or supplement made to change or add a provision to a will.



Decedent: a deceased person.



Devise: a gift of real estate by will.



Estate: everything a person owns, all real and personal property.



Executor/Executrix: a person or institution named in the will to carry out the provisions and directions of the will.



Heir: those persons who are entitled under the statutes of intestate succession to the property of a decedent.



Intestate: to die without a valid will.



Issue: a person�s direct descendents.



Legal Guardian: a person who acts in a fiduciary capacity for a minor or mental incompetent.



Personal Property: intangible property, such as: stocks, bonds or bank accounts, and tangible property, such as: furniture, automobiles and jewelry.



Probate: official proof of the genuineness of will.



Surrogate: a judicial officer who has the jurisdiction over the probate of wills and administration of estates.



Testator/Testatrix: the person who makes a will.



Testate: to die leaving a valid will.



Trust: property owned and managed by one person for the benefit of another.

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Will: a legal declaration of the manner in which a person wishes his/her estate to be divided after death.