OUR GLOSSARY OF KEY WORDS AND THEIR MEANING
Will claim Solicitors, specialist no win no fee will dispute and will contest Solicitors, provide a glossary of key words and their meaning in Will dispute and Will contest claims
Key words in Will dispute and Will contest claims and their meaning
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Beneficiary | Someone who receives money, property or assets from a deceased persons estate |
| Testator | Someone who makes a Will |
| Executor | A person who is appointed by a Will to administer an estate of a deceased person in accordance with the terms of the Will |
| Personal Representative | A person, usually an Executor, to whom a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration have been issued providing the licence to administer an estate |
| Intestacy | Position where a deceased’s person has no Will |
| Intestate | |
| Intestacy rules | The rules which govern who inherits where there is no Will |
| Will | Document determining who administers a deceased’s persons estate and who benefits from it |
| Will Trust | A Trust which is formulated by a Will |
| Codicil | A document which is similar to the main Will but which adjusts elements of it |
| Wills Act 1837 | The key statute determining the legal validity of Wills |
| Inheritance | One’s benefit from the estate of a deceased person |
| Revocation | Act which revokes (often) a Will (marrying and/or destruction are acts which can revoke a Will) |
| Trustee | A person in charge of a Trust and who administers it, usually by reference to a Trust Deed or Will |
| Trust | A legal device (similar to a company) under which someone administers property on behalf of others (he/she is in a position of “trust”) |
| Grant of Probate | A “licence” issued by the state (Probate Registry) to the executor authorising him/her to administer the estate and distribute it in accordance with the terms of a Will |
| Letters of Administration | A “licence” issued by the state to the administrator of an intestate estate authorising him/her to administer the estate and distribute it in accordance with the rules of intestacy |
| Rules of Intestacy | Rules with govern the distribution of an estate where there is no Will |
| Caveat | A legal device which stops the issue of a Grant or Letter of Administration |
| Caveator | A person who enters a Caveat |
| Warning | A legal device which requires a Caveator to reveal the basis of their complaint about a Will and/or its legal validity |
| Appearance | A legal device by way a Caveator reveals the basis of his/her complaint about a Will and/or its legal validity |
| Standing search | A legal device by which the person making the Standing Search is told when a Grant or Letters of Administration have been issued – often to ensure that legal proceedings can be brought in time (which in many instances is within six months of the date of the Grant or Letters of Administration) |
| CPR 57 claim | Civil Procedure Rule 57 under which most claims to do with Wills and estates are issued at Court (see also CPR 64) |
| Legal Testamentary | |
| Capacity | A persons capacity to make a Will in law |
| Larke v Nugus | This is an old legal case under which it was held that those challenging the legal validity of a Will had a right to ask the Will writer questions and/or to obtain a copy of the Will writer’s file (prior to the issue of court proceedings under CPR 57) |
| Banks v Goodfellow | This is an even older case which provides the basic test for determining “legal testamentary capacity” |
| Knowledge and Approval | Testator’s understanding of what a Will does (important to determine its legal validity) |
| Undue influence | An act which in relation to Wills overbears the testator’s wishes thus procuring a Will which doesn’t represent them (which if found will render the Will invalid) |
| Fraudulent Calumny | A type of undue influence whereby in layman’s terms an individual is persuaded to write a Will and not include (or disinherit) a particular individual by besmirching that persons character or actions |
| Estate | The property of a deceased person which is left to others in accordance with the terms of a Will or rules of intestacy |
| IHT | Inheritance Tax |
| CGT | Capital Gains Tax |
| Chancery | The old-fashioned name for a division of the High Court which determines Will dispute and Will contest claims |
| Life interest | An interest in a part of an estate in relation to which the beneficiary can only receive a benefit of part (usually income rather than capital) during his/her lifetime |
| Deed of Variation | Document (which is signed by all relevant parties in front of witnesses who also sign) which evidences the change which they agree to make to the terms of a Will post death |
If you consider any of these facts and matters are of interest, are likely to apply to you, or you would like to ask us for more information about our no win no fee arrangement, or you simply want us to assess your claim, then please do not hesitate to contact us for a confidential no strings chat and/or visit us at www.willclaim.com.
We provide details about our no win no fee arrangements at https://www.willclaim.com/no-win-no-fee/.