Wills and Estates : Glossary of Important Words
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28 January 2019
Below are a list of common words and terms you may come across in relation to a Will and/or an Estate and what they mean.
Contents
- 1. Abatement
- 2. Ademption
- 3. Administration
- 4. Administration period
- 5. Administrator
- 6. Apportionment
- 7. Attorney
- 8. Attestation
- 9. Asset
- 10. Beneficiary
- 11. Bequest
- 12. Codicil
- 13. Conveyancing
- 14. Deceased
- 15. Discretionary Trust
- 16. Donee
- 17. Donor
- 18. Estate
- 19. Executor
- 20. Fideicommissum
- 21. Gift
- 22. Guardians
- 23. Immovable Property
- 24. Indemnity
- 25. Insolvency
- 26. Interest
- 27. Intestate
- 28. Intestate Succession
- 29. Issue
- 30. Last Will and Testament
- 31. Letters of Executorship
- 32. Liability
- 33. Liquidation and Distribution Account
- 34. Living Will
- 35. Matrimonial Home
- 36. Minor
- 37. Moveable Property
- 38. Next of Kin
- 39. Notary Public
- 40. Oath
- 41. Post Mortem
- 42. Power of Attorney
- 43. Predeceased
- 44. Pro Rata
- 45. Realisation
- 46. Registrar
- 47. Residuary Beneficiary
- 48. Residuary Estate
- 49. Residue
- 50. Revocation
- 51. Satisfaction
- 52. Settlor
- 53. Specific Bequest
- 54. Testament
- 55. Testate
- 56. Testator
- 57. Testatrix
- 58. Trust
- 59. Trustee
- 60. Usufruct
- 61. Will
- 62. Witnesses
A
Abatement | The process of determining the order in which the estate will abate to pay debts, liabilities, and expenses. |
Ademption | When a person makes a declaration in their Will to leave a gift to another but revokes the gift before death either by destroying it, selling it or disposing of it in some other way. |
Administration | Managing the affairs of the deceased. This involves establishing, collecting and distributing the assets of the estate as laid out in the Will or, where there is no Will, according to the intestacy rules that apply. |
Administration period | The time taken from the date of death to the completion of the estate’s administration. |
Administrator | The person who deals with distributing the estate in cases when there is no Will. |
Apportionment | The proportionate division of income between certain beneficiaries. |
Attorney | Someone appointed by another to act on their behalf. |
Attestation | Witnessing a signature. |
Asset | Property, money or belongings owned by the deceased. |
B
Beneficiary | Anyone or thing that is entitled to a share of the estate of the deceased. |
Bequest | Any gift left in a Will that is not land or buildings |
C
Codicil | An addition or change made to a Will. It has to be signed and witnessed in the same way as a Will. A codicil may be needed, for example, to increase a cash bequest, change a guardian or executor named in a Will, or to add another beneficiary. Codicils should only be used to perform minor changes to the existing Will. If more complicated changes are needed it is advisable to make an entirely new Will. |
Conveyancing | Conveyancing is the legal work that needs to take place when buying, selling and re-financing property. |
D
Deceased | The person who has died. |
Discretionary Trust | A trust where the trustee has the full power to decide when and which certain beneficiaries are to receive their capital. |
Donee | The person who receives the gift. |
Donor | The person leaving the gift. |
E
F
Fideicommissum | A legal institution, where the owner of a property transfers this property to another person, subject to it being transferred from that person to yet another person at a later stage. |
G
Gift | Any bequest left in a Will. |
Guardians | The people chosen by the testator to look after their children in the event of their death. |
I
Immovable Property | Freehold or leasehold property. |
Indemnity | An agreement to compensate someone for any loss suffered as a result of a failure to act by another. |
Insolvency | When there is a shortfall of funds to meet all liabilities. |
Interest | The right to property. |
Intestate | When a person dies with no legally valid Will. |
Intestate Succession | The name for the situation which arises when someone dies without having made a legally valid Will. Their estate is then distributed according to the laws governing intestate succession. |
Issue | All the direct descendants of a person. |
L
Last Will and Testament | A legal document that lays out the way a person wishes to have their estate distributed upon death. It can also contain their wishes for their burial/cremation. |
Letters of Executorship | The legal document issued by the Master of the High Court, appointing an executor to deal with an estate. |
Liability | The debts that need to be settled by the estate following the death of the deceased. |
Liquidation and Distribution Account | Accounts of the financial transactions recorded during the Administration Period. |
Living Will | A Living Will usually covers specific directives as to the course of treatment that is to be taken by caregivers. |
M
Matrimonial Home | The place where a husband and wife live. |
Minor | A person under the age of 18. |
Moveable Property | Any property that is not immovable e.g. personal chattels. |
N
Next of Kin | The nearest blood relative of the deceased. |
Notary Public | A legal officer appointed to deal with legal documents, principally for the conclusion of an ante-nuptial contract (in South Africa) but also for international purposes. |
O
Oath | A pledge to tell the truth, verbally or in writing. |
P
Post Mortem | A medical examination of the body to determine the cause of death. |
Power of Attorney | Authorisation to act on someone else’s behalf, usually in the form of a signed document. |
Predeceased | Someone who dies before the person who has made the Will. |
Pro Rata | Proportionately. |
R
Realisation | Converting estate assets into cash. |
Registrar | The person who registers the death. Every death must be registered by Department of Home Affairs. |
Residuary Beneficiary | Any person entitled to receive the whole or a share of any residue of the estate, under the terms of the Will or on intestacy. |
Residuary Estate | What is left of the estate after all liabilities and expenses have been paid. |
Residue | What’s left after the money legacies, specific gifts, funeral expenses, and all other expenses. |
Revocation | When the testator decides to change their Will completely and invalidates the previous one. |
S
Satisfaction | Settling a debt or obligation. |
Settlor | A person who has set up a trust. |
Specific Bequest | Specific gifts left to specific people. |
T
Testament | Another name for a Will. |
Testate | Dying leaving a Will. |
Testator | The person who sets out his wishes and requests as to how their estate should be divided in the form of a Will. |
Testatrix | A female testator. |
Trust | An arrangement set up by Will or deed with Trustees being appointed and given money or assets to hold and manage for the defined beneficiaries. |
Trustee | Someone who is given the legal responsibility to holds any assets until nominated beneficiaries meet certain criteria set out in the deceased’s Will e.g. until a beneficiary reaches the age of 18. Trustees normally have powers to distribute monies and have full power to sell and invest. |
U
Usufruct | The right to use and enjoy the profits and advantages of something belonging to someone else, as long as the property is not altered in any way. In the case of a Last Will and Testament, an asset that is bequeathed to one person but the user is given to someone else, usually for the remained of that person’s life (i.e. a husband might leave a house to his children but the use of the house to his wife until she dies). |
Article via: GCM Legal
DISCLAIMER: THIS INFORMATION DOES NOT CONSTITUTE LEGAL ADVICE. IT IS ALWAYS ADVISABLE TO DISCUSS YOUR SITUATION WITH AN ATTORNEY OR PROFESSIONAL.
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