Wills, Trusts & Estates

Codicil - (1) amendment to a will; (2) a will that modifies or partially revokes an
existing or earlier will.
Decedent - the deceased (U.S. term)
Demonstrative Legacy - a gift of a specific sum of money with a direction that is
to be paid out of a particular fund.
Descent - succession to real property.
Devise - testamentary gift of real property.
Devisee - beneficiary of real property under a will.
Distribution - succession to personal property.
Executor/executrix or personal representative [PR] - person named to
administer the estate, generally subject to the supervision of the probate court, in
accordance with the testator's wishes in the will. In most cases, the testator will
nominate an executor/PR in the will unless that person is unable or unwilling to
serve. In some cases a literary executor may be appointed to manage a literary
estate.
Exordium clause is the first paragraph or sentence in a will and testament, in
which the testator identifies himself or herself, states a legal domicile, and
revokes any prior wills.
Inheritor - a beneficiary in a succession, testate or intestate.
Intestate - person who has not created a will, or who does not have a valid will at
the time of death.
Legacy - testamentary gift of personal property, traditionally of money. Note:
historically, a legacy has referred to either a gift of real property or personal
property.
Legatee - beneficiary of personal property under a will, i.e., a person receiving a
legacy.
Probate - legal process of settling the estate of a deceased person.
Specific legacy (or specific bequest) - a testamentary gift of a precisely
identifiable object.
Testate - person who dies having created a will before death.
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