Insurance beneficiary means the beneficiary of a life insurance policy who receives the proceeds of the policy upon the death of the insured. An insurance beneficiary who pays the entire…

Survival action refers to a lawsuit that is brought on behalf of a decedent’s estate for injuries or damages incurred by the decedent immediately before dying. Survival action also derives…

The Simultaneous Death Act is a state or local law which provides that if two persons (usually a husband and wife) both die under conditions in which it is impossible…

Law of descent and distribution is the branch of law that sets forth who is entitled to the estate of the deceased person pursuant to the laws of inheritance. Law…

Last-in-time-marriage presumption is a presumption which states that the most recently contracted marriage is valid. This presumption generally arises in a situation where a person, believing him/her to be divorced,…

Inheritance traditionally has referred to whatever one receives upon the death of a relative due to the laws of descent and distribution, which apply when there is no will. However,…

Heir Land refers to the land that is descended to an heir upon the death of his/her ancestor. Heir is a person who is entitled by law or by the…

Devastavit is the Latin for “he (or she) has wasted.” It refers to a personal representative’s failure to administer a decedent’s estate promptly and properly. In other words mismanagement of…

Creditors’ bill is an equitable action or suit brought by a creditor to enforce a money judgment against a debtor to collect the payment of a debt that cannot be…

Abatement of bequest is the process of determining the distribution of the assets left by a testator at his/her death among the various beneficiaries named in the will. It is…

Personal estate means movable property. The term personal estate should be construed to mean every species of property not of a freehold nature, including not only goods and chattels, but…

Vested estate is an absolute, unconditional, and indefeasible interest. It is an estate which is not contingent or expectant. Vested estate carry a fixed right of present or future enjoyment.…

Net estate is the estate of a person left to be distributed. It is calculated by taking the value of all assets and subtracting all debts of the person who…

An insolvent estate is one whose assets are insufficient to pay its debts, taxes, and administrative expenses.

The total value of a person’s estate before making deductions for taxes, funeral expenses, attorney’s fees or administration costs is called the gross estate. It is the total dollar value…

General Estate is the entire estate both real and personal of a person, Particularly it is the entire property left by a decedent. In a more narrow sense, general estate…

General debts of an estate are the miscellaneous bills of the decedents, such as utility bils and credit card payments, which remain unpaid at the time of death. A priority…

The term “estate has different meanings in legal terminology. In one usage, estate may mean all the possessions of one who has died and are subject to probate administration supervised…

The overall planning of a person’s wealth is estate planning. All of the assets owned or controlled by a decedent and the debts that were the responsibility of the decedent…

The Uniform Custodial Trust Act (UCTA), promulgated by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws in 1987, offers everyone a chance to establish a kind of trust that…

Accumulation trust is an arrangement by which the settler directs the trustee to accumulate income and gains from sales of trust assets until the time specified in the document that…

Homestead is a dwelling house and the adjoining land where the head of the family resides. A probate homestead is set aside by the court for the use of survivors…

Generally, a person who has not attained maturity or the age of legal majority is a child. Pursuant to section 1-201 of Uniform Probate Code, a Child includes an individual…

Election under the will means ‘electing to take against the will’. In the U.S., most of the states have probate statutes providing a widow a particular percentage of the late…