Estate Planning and Trust Glossary of Fundamental Terms.

 Edited and Prepared by: Prof. Mentz, JD, MBA, CWM Attorney at Law

A

A-B Trust: A joint, revocable living trust for a married couple that divides into two trusts at the death of the first spouse: (A) a revocable survivor's trust, and (B) an irrevocable credit bypass trust designed to hold the deceased spouse's assets up to the amount of the decedent's available estate tax exclusion.

Ademption:  A gift to a beneficiary is considered adeemed when the testator makes the gift to the beneficiary or a third party during the testator's lifetime.

Ademption by Extinction occurs if the gift has been transferred to a third party, e.g., by sale.

Ademption by Satisfaction occurs if the gift has been advanced. See Advancement.

Advance Directive:  See Health Care Directive

Advancement:  The satisfaction of a testamentary gift prior to the testator's death. 

Administration:  The management of a decedent's estate.

Administrator:  A court appointed person or corporation in charge of managing the estate of a person who dies without leaving a will.  Administrators have the same duties as Executors.  In Minnesota, the administrator or executor is called the Personal Representative.

Affiant:  A person who makes an oath or affirmation and acknowledges the same in writing. In Minnesota this is usually done before a notary public.

Affidavit: A voluntary written statement of facts confirmed by the oath or affirmation of the affiant.

Affidavit of Collection of Personal Property:  A sworn, notarized statement, used to collect assets of a small estate without going through the probate process. (aka Affidavit of a Small Estate)

After-born Children:  Those born to a testator after he/she has executed a will.

Agent:  A person authorized by another to act for him.

AKA: Also Known As (also lower case: aka).

Amendment: A change or modification. See Codicil.

Ancestor (an Ascendant): A deceased relative such as a parent or grandparent from whom one is descended.

Ancillary Administration: A secondary administration in a state where the decedent owned property and which is not the state where the decedent was domiciled.

Annuity: The right to receive fixed sums of money at regular intervals.

Appoint:  To designate and empower particular person(s) with authority to perform specified duties.

Appraisal: An evaluation by disinterested and qualified persons as to the value of assets.

Appreciated Property:  An increase in market value of an asset, personal or real property, from an earlier value due to inflation and/or an increase in demand.

Ascendants:Persons with whom one is related in previous generations i.e. parents, grandparents, etc.

Assessed Valuation:  The value placed upon property by taxing authorities. See FairMarket Value.

Assets: All property of a person, corporation or estate of a decedent; real or personal, tangible or intangible.   

Attorney-in-fact:  A person with the power granted under a power of attorney.

Authentication:  A process to prove that a copy is an exact duplicate of the original so as to make it legally admissible in court.

Authenticated document: An authenticated document includes a statement by a proper court officer that the document is in proper form and that the person who certified it is the officer appointed to do so. (AKA MN - exemplified document) see certified copy

B

Basis: A person's cost or investment in an asset. Basis is used to calculate capital gains (or losses) on a sale (sales price less basis equals capital gain or loss). Basis is adjusted (stepped-up or down) at a person's death to the "fair market value" of the asset on the date of death.

Beneficiary :  An entity who benefits from the act of another.

Beneficiary Designation: The act whereby the decedent, prior to death, identifies the recipient(s) of his/her assets.

Bequest : A gift by will of personal property.

            Specific bequest: A gift of personal property of a specific class or kind.

            Residuary bequest:  A gift of the balance of the decedent's assets after payment of debts and

            other specific gifts.

Bond:  see Surety bond

Bypass Trust:  See Credit Shelter Trust.

By Right of Representation: see Per Stirpes

C

Capacity: To have capacity is to be of legal age (majority in Minnesota is age 18) and  to be able to understand the nature and effect of your acts.

Certified copy: Distinguished from a plain copy by a) raised imprint of a court seal, b) a court stamp and,  c)an original signature by a court officer stating the certified copy is a true and correct copy of the original document retained by the Court.

Charitable Trust: A trust having a charitable organization as a beneficiary.

Charitable Remainder Trust ("CRT"): An irrevocable trust into which the grantor converts highly appreciated assets (e.g., investment real estate, stocks, etc.) into a lifetime income without paying capital gains tax when the asset is sold. Utilizing a CRT reduces income and estate taxes while letting you benefit your favored charity.

Claims: A debt the decedent owed on the date of death.

Claimant: An entity making a demand for money or property.

Class Gift:  A gift to all members of a named class.    For example:  one's children, one's partners, etc.

Codicil: A supplement or addition to an existing will that modifies, explains, or otherwise alters the existing will in some way. 

Common law marriage: Common law marriage is not recognized in Minnesota.

Community property: Property owned by a husband and wife each having an undivided one-half interest in the common property because of their marriage.

Conservator:  An entity appointed by a court and given the power to protect the financial assets and financial interests of a legally disabled person (a "ward" or "protected person").  Since the adoption of the Uniform Guardianship and Protective Proceedings Act (2003) there has been a change in the definition of a conservator and a guardian.

Contest:  To oppose or dispute a matter before the court.

Contingent Beneficiary:  A person who is not the primary beneficiary but who may or will take the benefits of the primary if certain events occur.

Cost Basis: The original amount paid for an asset.

Costs of Administration:  The actual costs of administering an estate (as opposed to costs of paying the debts of decedent), eg, filing fees, appraiser fees, sales commissions, storage expenses, delivery charges, and the personal representative's commissions and his/her attorney's fees.

Co-Personal Representatives: Two or more persons appointed to represent a decedent's estate who must act together in the administration of the estate.

Co-trustees:   More than one trustee serving at the same time with the same duties and responsibilities.

Credit Shelter Trust (aka Bypass Trustor Exemption Trust or as the "B" Trust in "A/B Trust" plans): Created in the will or living trust of a decedent. At the death of the first spouse the trust is funded with the maximum dollars that can be passed tax free ("applicable exclusion amount") from decedent's estate. This amount will also pass tax free at the death of the second spouse.

Creditor: An individual or entity to which an estate may be indebted.

Crummey Power: A name taken from a court case (Crummey v. IRS) used to describe the beneficiary's right of withdrawal provision during a window period in an irrevocable trust. The amount of withdrawal is usually limited to the annual exclusion of the additions to a trust.

Crummey Trust:  A trust in which its beneficiary has a non-cumulative power to withdraw a specified amount of principal, usually limited to the gift tax annual exclusion amount, only during a limited period of time each year, usually no more than a week or two following the donor's transfer of the gift to the trust.

In order to qualify for the gift tax annual exclusion amount, a gift has to be of a present interest, so assets transferred to a trust for the benefit of another usually fail to qualify for the gift tax annual exclusion amount and are taxable.  In order to qualify an asset transferred to a trust for another's benefit for the gift tax annual exclusion amount, what Mr. Crummy (the taxpayer whose case established the use of trusts that now bear his name) did was to provide that his beneficiary have the power to withdraw, for only a short period of time after its making, any asset that he transferred to the trust for the beneficiary's benefit.  The beneficiary must then elect:

To exercise his/her power of withdrawal, in which case the donor's annual gift program, at least as regards that beneficiary, will likely stop; or

To do nothing, allowing his/her power of withdrawal to lapse, in which case the donor's annual gift program will likely continue for years to come.

Custodian:  A person named by a donor, testator or personal representative to hold and manage property on behalf of a minor, generally under a statute (eg, the Uniform Transfers to Minors Act) of the donor's, testator's or representative's resident state. 

D

Death Tax:  All taxes imposed on property or the transfer of property at the death of the owner.(AKA an estate tax or inheritance tax) Minnesota does not have an inheritance tax.

Decedent: The person who has died.

Demand for Notice:  A written statement, filed after the death of the decedent, by a person with a financial or property interest in a decedent's estate who desires notice of any order or filing pertaining to the decedent's estate.

Descendant  (aka Issue)  A person descended from another; an immediate or more remote offspring, eg, a child or grandchild.  An individual related to an intestate in a descending lineal line.

Descent: Succession to a decedent's estate by inheritance rather than by purchase.

Devise: A gift by will of real or personal property. A devise is synonymous with a  bequest or legacy.

Devisee: A person designated in a will to receive a devise.

Directive to Physicians:  See Health Care Directive.

Disclaimer: A  written statement where an heir or devisee declines to accept an asset of the estate.

Disclaimer Trust:  A credit shelter trust provided in a decedent's will or living trust as the contingentbeneficiary of the applicable exclusion amount and with its primary beneficiary being the surviving spouse, who can then elect:

To keep all or part of decedent's gift of the applicable exclusion amount, with the understanding that it will be subject to estate tax at the surviving spouse's later death, or

To disclaim all or a part of the gift, in which case, the disclaimed assets will pass to decedent's contingent beneficiary, his/her credit shelter trust, which won't be subject to estate tax at the surviving spouse's later death.

Discretionary Trust(aka Sprinkling Trust)
A trust that allows its trustee to pay as much trust income or principal or both to the beneficiary as the trustee sees fit or according to more defined terms specified in the trust (eg, for his/her health, education, maintenance, and support).

Disinheritance Clause:  A will clause which specifically omits a gift for anyone not named in the will. 

Distributee:  An heir entitled to a share of an intestate estate.

Distribution:  A division of estate assets, pursuant to authority of the court, to those legally entitled to a share of the decedent's estate.

Domicile: A person's usual place of dwelling and shall be synonymous with "residence." [ A person must be domiciled in Hennepin County at the time of death in order to file probate in Hennepin County.Evidence of domicile includes registering to vote, using the address as a permanent address, etc. It is the place the person intends to return to, even when currently residing elsewhere.]

Domiciliary Administrator:  The administrator (Personal Representative) of a decedent's estate in the state where the decedent was domiciled at the time of death.

Donee:  The recipient of a gift.

Donor:  A person who gives a gift.

             Duress:  The threat of  harm or use of  physical force upon the testator,  with the intent to coerce the testator, to make a devise contrary to the testator's free will. 

E

Elective Share: A spouse's statutory share of a deceased spouse's estate. 

Encumbrance:  A lien or claim, such as a mortgage, on property.

Equitable Interest:  The interest held by a beneficiary of a trust, ie, the right to use or receive property held by the trust according to its terms.

Escheat:  When there are no surviving beneficiaries or heirs the decedent's assets revert to the state.

Estate: The whole of the decedent's assets, real and personal.

            Probate estate: Assets in the decedent's name alone.

Non-probate estate: Assets with a named beneficiary, " in trust for" designation, joint tenancy, "payable on death" (POD), or  "transfer on death" (TOD) designation.

Estate Tax: A federal or state tax imposed at one's death on the transfer of most types of property.

Estate Administration:  The collection and management of an individual's property, the payment of his/her debts, the determination and settlement of any taxes due, and the distribution of his/her assets following his/her death.

Execute:  To complete and sign [generally used with respect to wills], with all statutorily required formalities, such as witnesses or notary acknowledgement, a valid document.

Executor/Executrix:  The male or female respectively, who is named by the person making the will to administer the estate.. This person will collect the property, pay any debt and distribute your property or assets according to the will.  In Minnesota, the Executor is called the Personal Representative

Executor:  A person named in a will to administer the testator's estate upon his/her death.  In Minnesota, this is called the Personal Representative.  Compare: Executrix.   Contrast:  Administrator .

Executrix:  A female executor.

Exempt Property: Estate property which is not subject to probate proceedings.

Exemption Trust:  See Bypass Trust.

Exoneration:  The satisfaction of all indebtedness on a specific gift prior to its transfer to its beneficiary.

Ex Parte: 

Expert:  One qualified to testify in court; Example: Mary Schwartz is qualified as an expert witness in matters relating to genealogy and heirship.

F

Fair Market Value ("FMV"): The price agreed upon by a willing buyer and a willing seller for property on the open market.

Family Allowance: A portion of a decedent's estate set aside by statute for a surviving spouse, children, or parents, regardless of any testamentary disposition or competing claims.

Family Limited Partnership: A partnership into which substantial assets (e.g., rental real estate or business) is transferred for the benefit of the individual donor, who becomes the general partner, retaining control (but not all of the title) over the assets. The donor's spouse and/or children are limited partners and hold the title to the balance of the partnership's interest in the assets.

Federal Estate Tax: The tax imposed at death on the net fair market value of all property in which the decedent owned an interest on the date of death. Generally, in 2004-2006, the first $1,500,000 of an estate is not subject to federal estate tax.

Fee: The amount paid for services.

Fiduciary : A person or institution legally responsible for the management, investment and distributions of funds. Examples include trustees, executors and administrators   Another name for an executor or personal representative.

corporate fiduciary - bank
Foreign Guardian: A guardian appointed in another state or country.

Formal Probate:   A court proceeding overseen by a referee or judge to probate a will and/or appoint a personal representative of an estate.  The administration of a formally probated estate may be either supervised or unsupervised by the court depending on the complexity of the estate to be probated, and may include determining testacy of the estate or validity of a will and determination of heirs.  Less complex and uncontested probate cases may be filed in front of a court registrar and are termed Informal Probate.

G

Guardian : An individual legally appointed to manage the rights and/or property of a person incapable of taking care of his or her own affairs, such as a minor or protected person;   A person who has been appointed by the court to act on behalf of a ward's person or property or both.  In Minnesota, language has recently been clarified to denote a guardian as "of the person" and conservator as "of the estate".

Gift Tax:  Tax on gifts which is generally paid by the person making the gift, rather than the recipient.

Gift-Tax Annual Exclusion: The provision in the federal tax law that exempts the first $10,000 (as adjusted for inflation) in present-interest gifts a person gives to each recipient during a year from federal gift taxes.  In 2004, the annual exclusion was $11,000.

Grantor: The person who transfers assets into a trust for the benefit of another.

Grantor Retained Annuity Trust (GRAT): A trust that pays the grantor a fixed amount for a fixed term of years, regardless of the value of the underlying securities funding the trust. When the fixed term ends, the trust assets pass to the named trust beneficiaries.

Grantor Retained Interest Trust (GRIT): A trust typically used for transferring high-value real estate, jewelry, antiques or valuable art that the grantor would like to continue to display or to which the grantor wishes to maintain possession. The grantor is permitted to enjoy some use of the transferred assets, avoid probate, and save estate taxes.

Grantor Retained UniTrust (GRUT) :A trust in which the grantor's annuity payment is a fixed percentage -- in contrast with the fixed dollar amount in a GRAT -- of the value of the trust's assets for a fixed number of years. The grantor's income increases or decreases as the value of the assets increase or decrease. Like the GRAT, the trust assets pass to the named beneficiaries at the end of the fixed term.

Gross Estate: The total value of your assets owned at death, or that are included in your estate, before debts, taxes, and other expenses or liabilities have been deducted. For federal estate tax purposes, the value is determined at the date of death or on an alternate valuation date six months after death.

Guardian: The named in a will or appointed by the court to care for a minor or incompetent person.

H

Health Care Directive:

Heir/Heiress:  A male (heir) or female (heiress) entitled by law to inherit a portion of the estate of a person who has died intestate (without a will).

Health Care Directive:

Heirs:  Any individual entitled by law to inherit from another.  In Minnesota, there is an heirship chart used to determine heirs in the event a person dies intestate, or without a valid will.

Holographic Will: A will written entirely in a testator's handwriting.

Homestead: Property which is set aside for the benefit of specific family members, and which cannot be transferred by the decedent to a third party. As long as the homestead does not exceed in area or value the limits fixed by law, in most states it is exempt from forced sale for collection of a debt.

Homestead Affidavit:  An affidavit used to transfer title to a marital home, which is community property, to a surviving spouse without the need for a probate.

I

Incapacitated Person:  A person who has been determined by the court to lack the capacity to manage at least some of the property or to meet at least some of the essential health and safety requirements of such a person.

Inherit:  Receive something from a person (usually after the person is deceased).

Inheritance :  That which is received from another person upon his death.

Inheritance Tax:

Inter vivos: A type of trust created during one's lifetime to hold property for the benefit of another person.

Interest: Any right or ownership in property.

Interested Person or Interested Party:  An heir or devisee, or any other person having a right to, or a claim against, a deceased person's estate.  Creditors and the state, as well as state and county agencies, in certain circumstances, are interested persons.

Intestate: The term applied when an individual dies without a will.

Intestate Estate: Property that is held (1) solely in the name of an intestate person (a person who dies without a will) or (2) as a tenant in common by an intestate person. In the absence of a will, the intestate laws determine who inherits which shares of an intestate estate.

Irrevocable:  Can't be changed or revoked.

Issue:  All descendants, of all generations, of a deceased person.

J

Joint Ownership: The ownership of property by two or more people, usually with the right of survivorship.

Joint Property:  Property owned jointly with another person or persons.

Joint Tenancy with Right of Survivorship: A form of ownership by two or more persons such that upon one owner's death, the other owner automatically inherits the entire asset. A will provision cannot give the asset to someone other than the joint owner.

Joint Will: A single will that is signed by two or more persons (usually spouses) as their separate wills, and is to be probated after the death of each testator. Joint wills are not favored by law and may result in a finding of intestacy by the court. They often result in litigation for breach of contract when the survivor executes a new will following the first party's death.

Jurisdiction is the authority for a court to act on a matter.

K

L

Legatee:  A person named in a Will; this may or may not be a relative of the deceased person.

Letters(Estate):  The document issued by the court, which gives the personal representative the authority to act on behalf of the estate. Letters Testamentary are issued in a testate case; Letters of General Administration are issued in an intestate case. There are also Letters of Special Administration (for the appointment of a Special Administrator, Letters of Successor Personal Representative, etc.)

Letters (Guardianship):  The document issued by the court which gives the guardian or conservator the authority to act on behalf of the ward or conservatee or other protected person.

Liabilities:  What is owed to others, all debts and mortgages.

Life insurance trust:  A trust funded from the monies provided from life insurance.

Liquid assets:  Cash, coin and anything that can be quickly and easily converted to cash.

Living Trust: A revocable trust established by a grantor during his or her lifetime in which the grantor transfers some or all of his or her property into the trust.

Living Will: A legal documentwhich is signed and witnessed indicating the person's wishesthat, in the event of a terminal illness or debilitating accident, the person's life is not to be prolonged by artificial means.

M

Marital Deduction: A deduction allowing for the unlimited transfer of any or all property from one spouse to the other generally free of federal estate and gift tax.

Minor: A person under 18 years of age.

N

Notarization is the attestation by a Notary Public that a document was signed under oath and that the person whose signature appears on the document is that person. Notaries must be authorized by the State of Minnesota to act in this capacity. To notarize is the act of the notary attesting to the signature and affixing the notary's signature and seal to the document.

Notary:  A person with a state commission to attest to the validity of the signatures on documents.

Notice or giving notice is a written announcement to persons entitled to know what has transpired or will transpire in a case. When personal representatives comply with notice requirements, they give interested persons information about what is happening in the case, and protect the estate (and themselves) from claims that proper procedures were not followed. Generally, notice should be sent to:
            (a) all the heirs or devisees of an estate;
            (b) persons who have or may have an interest in the estate of the decedent;
            (c) anyone who asks for notice; and,
            (d) anyone who has filed a demand for notice.

O

Oath: A solemn affirmation to tell the truth.

Order:   The document signed by the judge or other officer of the court making findings that the requirements of the probate code have been met and entering a will into probate and/or appointing a personal representative. The Order usually also stipulates that letters be issued "upon qualification and acceptance." It is not the Order that gives the personal representative the authority to act, but the issuance of the Letters. A probate judge may also need to sign orders concerning other matters that arise in the case.

P

Personal Effects:  Personal belongings (such as clothing, pictures, mementos); personal effects may have little value as "assets," but may be important to relatives.

Personal Property: Any property that is not real (land) property.   Examples include bank accounts, stocks, bonds, insurance policies, pension plans, jewelry, furniture and motor vehicles.  Tangible personal property is property that can be touched (such as jewelry and sporting equipment).

Personal Representative: The person responsible for administering an estate. Sometimes referred to as an executor or administrator, the Personal Representative is the person appointed by the court to administer the estate of the decedent by giving notice of his/her appointment, paying claims of the estate and then distributing the estate according to the will or to the heirs if there is no will. A Personal Representative appointed in either a formal or an informal proceeding generally has the authority to do almost anything the decedent could have done with his/her property during his/her lifetime,

Per Stirpes: The method of distributing assets of an estate to beneficiaries who take by right of representation the share that a predeceased ancestor was entitled to.

. 

Petition : A written request to the court for an order.

Plenary Guardian: Full, entire, complete Guardianship.

Pre-need Guardian: A person named in a written declaration to serve as guardian in the event of the incapacity of the declarant.

Pour-Over Will: A will that transfers property to a pre-existing trust at the death of the testator.

Power of Attorney is a signed document that authorizes another person on someone's behalf. A power of attorney expires upon the death of the person who granted the power of attorney. The fact that a person had power of attorney does not give that person priority for appointment as personal representative.

Powers of Appointment: A right given to another in a written instrument, such as a will or trust that allows the other to decide how to distribute the property. The power of appointment is "general" if it places no restrictions on whom the distributees may be. A power is "limited" or "special" if it limits the eventual distributee.

Pre-nuptial agreement:  An agreement specifying ownership rights of assets executed prior to the marriage or nuptials.

Probate : The court process of settling an estate (the "probate estate") of a deceased person and transferring property to the heirs or beneficiaries of the estate.

Probate Code:  The body of law within the Minnesota statutes that governs the estates of deceased persons.  The probate code also deals with the administration of trusts and the protection of minors and persons under disability.

Probate of Will: Means all steps necessary to establish the validity of a will and to admit a will to probate.

Pro bono: Latin phrase for work or services done or performed by an attorney, free of charge.

Pro Se:  Latin phrase for acting without an attorney; representing one's self.

Protected Person:  A person who is under a guardian's charge or protection.

Q

Qualified Personal Residence Trust ("QPRT"): A trust used by a grantor to transfer his or her primary or secondary residence into an irrevocable trust, retaining the right to use the residence for a term of years, at the conclusion of which the trust terminates and the residence passes to the remainder beneficiaries. A QPRT permits the grantor to leverage the unified credit exemption.

Qualified Terminable Interest Property Trust ("QTIP"): A trust for the benefit of a spouse that is designed to qualify for the marital deduction. The trust pays all income to the spouse at least annually and no principal may pass to anyone other than the spouse during his or her lifetime. At the death of the spouse, the QTIP trust assets are included in calculating the estate tax on the spouse's estate.

R

Real property:  All real estate, including land, fixed improvements (buildings), and growing things thereon;  excludes personal property.

Rescind : To cancel; revoke; terminate.

Residue:  What is left of an estate after all bequests have been made.

Residuary Devise: A devise of the assets of the estate which remain after the provision for any devise which is to be satisfied by reference to a specific property or type of property, fund, sum, or statutory amount.

Residuary Estate: The estate that remains after all specific bequests are made.

Revocable:  Capable of being changed or revoked.

Revocation:   A) The act of withdrawal or recall of some power.  B) Making void a will.

Revoked:  Refers to a will or other document that the decedent has cancelled.  If a will is revoked, it has no effect.

Right of survivorship:  Permitting property to bypass probate procedures, this right of a joint property owner provides that, in the event of death, the surviving joint owner receives ownership in full.

S
Seal:  A notary seal or a stamp, seal of the court, etc., which proves the authenticity of a document.  A court seal embosses or raises the paper so that it can be felt by touch for authenticity.

Self-Proved Will: A will in which at least two witnesses took an oath, included in the will, at the time the will was signed, and in which both the witnesses' and the decedent's signatures were notarized by a qualified notary public.

Separate property:  Property that is not community property.

Share:  the part of an estate which an heir will receive. The number of shares is not the same as the number of heirs as some heirs may receive only part of a share. When heirs are not all related in the same way, some may receive shares "by representation." The laws are different in each state as to how shares are determined.

Sibling:  A brother or a sister.

Specific Bequest: see bequest.

Subpoena: A document ordering an individual to appear in court and give testimony.

Sui Juris: Of full age and capacity.

Summary Administration: Administration used if assets are under $20,000.

Surety Bond: Obligation of a guarantor(bonding company) to pay the estate upon failure of a fiduciary to perform his/her statutory duties owed to the estate.

T

Tenancy in Common: A form of ownership by two or more persons such that when one owner dies, that person's will (or, if there is no will, the intestate laws) determines who inherits that joint tenant's interest in the asset.

Tenancy by the Entirety: A form of ownership of real property between a husband and wife so that at one spouse's death, the other spouse automatically inherits the decedent's interest. Conceptually, you can think of this as the marriage owning the real property. This form of ownership provides certain protections against creditors that are not available with other forms of ownership.

Testament: Another name for a will, a testament is a document that deals with the disposition of one's property upon death.

Testamentary Trust: A trust that is created upon death by the terms of a person's will.

Testate : Having left a valid will at death.

Testator: An individual who dies leaving a will or testament in force; A person who makes a valid will.

Trust : A written legal instrument created by a grantor during his or her lifetime or at death for the benefit of another;   An arrangement where a person (known as a trustee) holds and manages the property of another person (who is known as the trust beneficiary). 

Trustee : The person or bank that holds, manages, and distributes trust property pursuant to the terms of a trust. A "co-trustee" serves as trustee with another. A "contingent trustee" becomes trustee upon the occurrence of a specified future event.

U

Unified Credit: A federal tax credit that offsets gift-tax and estate-tax liability. The cumulative amount of property that can be transferred during lifetime and at death before any federal gift or estate tax will be payable. Under the tax code the unified credit is expressed in terms of a credit against taxes. For practical purposes, this means that in 2004 and 2005, each person can pass up to $1,500,000 free of federal estate tax. This increases to $2,000,000 in 2006 and to $3,500,000 in 2009. The tax is repealed in 2010, and returns at the 2002 level for deaths occurring in 2011 and thereafter. The tax rates start at 37% and are capped at 50%. The rates gradually drop to 45% in 2007-2009. The taxes must be paid in cash, generally within 9 months after your death.
V

W
Waiver: The voluntary relinquishment of a privilege or a right.

Ward: A person who is under a guardian's charge or protection.

Will:  A legally executed document that directs how and to whom a person's property is to be distributed after death.  Also called a testament, a will is a document that deals with the disposition of one's property upon death.  Wills generally cannot dispose of property held as tenants by the entirety, joint tenants with rights of survivorship, or retirement plan benefits or life insurance proceeds (unless made payable to the estate). The person who has a will is a "testator".

Witness:   As it pertains to a will, a person who is present at the time the other witnesses, the notary, and the testator are all also present in his or her company  and,  with proof of identification, signs the will and watches all the others signing at the same time.

X

Y

Z