GLOSSARY
- Administrator/rix
- a person appointed by the Surrogate to take charge of
the Estate of a decedent who dies without a Will. Also called a personal
representative.
- Beneficiary
- a person designated to receive money, property or benefits in
a Will.
- Bequest
- a gift of personal property by a Will.
- Bequeath
- to dispose of personal property through a Will.
- Caveat
- a formal notice given by someone to prevent the proving of a Will
or the grant of administration of an Estate.
- Codicil
- an addition or supplement to an original Will that adds to or deletes
only part of a Will.
- Decedent
- a deceased person.
- Devise
- a gift of real estate through a Will.
- Domestic Partnership
- Two people that are not related and 18 years of age and of the same sex
or of the opposite sex age 62 years or older.
- Estate
- real and personal property and possessions; everything a person
owns.
- Executor/rix
- a person named in a Will to carry out the wishes and
intentions of the Will, also known as a personal representative.
- Guardian
- a person who has been qualified and/or been appointed as a
guardian of the person and/or property of a minor or adult mental
incompetent.
- Heir
- a person who inherits property from a deceased person.
- Intestate
- when a person dies without a Will.
- Joint tenants with rights of survivorship
- two or more persons owning
real estate where the survivor will inherit the property.
- Legatee
- a person who receives a gift under a Will.
- Personal property
- intangible property, such as stocks, bonds, or bank
accounts and tangible property such as jewelry, furniture or an automobile.
- Probate
- official proof of authenticity or validity of a Will.
- Real property
- land and/or buildings.
- Surrogate
- the elected county official who oversees probate in the State
of New Jersey.
- Tenants in Common
- two or more persons owning undivided individual
interests in a single piece of property.
- Tenants by the Entirety
- real property owned as husband and wife with
rights of survivorship.
- Testator/rix
- the person who makes a Will.
- Trust
- property owned or managed by a person for another.
- Trustee
- person holding property in trust for another.
- Will
- a legal declaration of the manner in which a person wishes Estate to
be divided after death.
- Witness
- person who observes the signing of a Will and/or codicil and
attests to the signature of the Testator/rix.
