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Funerals and Wills - the jargon explained

Administration

The process of dealing with your estate according to your Will if there is one, or according to intestancy rules if not.

Administrator

A person appointed by the court to oversee your estate if there is no Will or if there are no executors.

Beneficiary

A person or organisation mentioned in your Will whom you wish to leave a gift to.

Bequest

A gift that you leave a person or organisation in your Will.

Codicil

Any change or addition you make to your Will after you have made it.

Disbursements

Payments made to third parties. For example for the funeral services, disbursements may be made to the Crematorium, the Minister or the doctor.

Estate

Everything that belongs to you and is owed to you to you at the time of your death.

Executor

A person named in your Will to carry out the terms of the Will.

Inheritance tax

A tax that may be paid by your estate after your death, if your estate's net worth exceeds certain inheritance tax levels.

Intestancy rules

The legal rules that decide how your estate will be distributed if you do not have a Will.

Legacy

Another name for a gift you leave a person or organisation in your Will:

  • Pecuniary legacy - a specific sum of money
  • Residuary legacy - the remainder of the estate or appropriate share of it
  • Specific legacy - actual item, such as a gold watch, ring etc.

Personal Representative

Another name for an administrator or executor.

Probate

Probate is the name given to the process of settling the estate of someone who has died. If you have a Will, the courts will provide a 'grant of probate' to the executor. This gives them the authority to distribute your estate according to the wishes detailed in your Will.

Spouse

Your wife, husband or civil partner.

Testator

The person who has made the Will

Trust

A legal arrangement to hold money or property for someone else, often a child

At what can be a confusing time with lots of legal terms and names, we hope this guide to the legal terms and names you might come across can make things a little simpler.