GLOSSARY

Personal property that takes a tangible form, such as automobiles, furniture and heirlooms. Although such items as stock ownership and copyrights may be represented in the form of paper certificates, the actual property is not in physical form and therefore considered intangible personal property.

The fair market value of all assets owned by a decedent at date of death (gross estate) less certain allowable deductions, such as debts of the decedent, last illness and funeral expenses, and expenses of administering the decedents estate (attorneys fees, court costs and newspaper publication fees).

A type of joint ownership that allows a person to sell his share or leave it in a will without the consent of the other owners. If a person dies without a will, his share goes to his heirs, not to the other owners.

A trust created by the provisions in a will. Typically comes into existence after the writer of the will dies.

A person who has made a will or who has died leaving a valid will; opposite of intestate.

A disposition of property in a will.

The person who makes a will.

Ownership of property.

A bank account in your name for which you name a beneficiary. Upon the death of the named holder of the account, the money transfers automatically to the beneficiary.

A representative of a corporation who is authorized to transfer ownership of a corporations stock from one person to another. An executor or administrator must use a transfer agent when passing title to a decedents stock to an heir or beneficiary.

In the United States, the trial is the principal method for resolving legal disputes that parties cannot settle by themselves or through less formal methods. The chief purpose of a trial is to secure fair and impartial administration of justice between the parties to the action. To provide a final legal determination of the dispute between the parties. The cornerstone of the legal system in the United States is the jury trial. However, not all trials are jury trials. A case may also be tried before a judge. This is known as a court trial or a bench trial. A court trial is basically identical to a jury trial, except the judge decides both the facts and the law applicable to the action.

A Trial Readiness Conference (TRC) is a hearing scheduled before the trial date. It may be conducted for several reasons: (1) expedite disposition of the case, (2) help the court establish managerial control over the case, (3) discourage wasteful pretrial activities, (4) improve the quality of the trial with thorough preparation and (5) facilitate a settlement of the case.

A written legal instrument created by a grantor during his or her lifetime or at death for the benefit of another. Property is given to a trustee to manage for the benefit of a third person. Generally the beneficiary gets interest and dividends on the trust assets for a set number of years. A legal arrangement under which one person or institution (called a trustee) controls property given by another person (termed a trustor, grantor or settler) for the benefit of a third person (called a beneficiary). The property itself is sometimes termed the corpus of trust.

The person named in a trust document who will manage the property owned by the trust and distributes any income according to the document. A trustee can be an individual or a corporate fiduciary.

The person who transfers assets into a trust for the benefit of another. (Also known as a grantor.)