Glossary
There's no doubt that legal language can start to sound like
gobbledegook. Here is a simple glossary to help make things a little bit
clearer.
Administrator
Beneficiary
Charity
Codicil
Domicile
Estate
Executor and Trustees
Grant of probate
Guardians
Inheritance Tax (IHT)
Intestacy
Intestate
Issue
Joint property
Legacy
Letters of administration
Mirror will
Power of Attorney (POA)
Property
Testate
Testator
Trust
Trustee
Will
Wills in expectation of marriage / civil partnership
Worldwide will
Administrator
Has similar duties to those of an
executor for estates where:
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there is no will
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the will does not appoint an executor
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the named executor is unable or unwilling to act.
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There are court rules which govern who may apply to act as administrator.
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Beneficiary
A person, or organisation, who receives benefit from a
will or
trust.
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Charity
To qualify as a charity an organisation must be for the relief
of poverty, or for the advancement of education or religion or for other
purposes beneficial to the community.
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Codicil
A document, usually short, which (when properly executed)
amends the terms of an existing
will.
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Domicile
Domicile is a complex legal concept that for UK purposes
determines the legal system under which your will is to be interpreted and
administered. For most people their residence and domicile are the same as the
country in which they live. However if you or your parents were born outside
England and Wales, or you intend to live permanently outside England and Wales
you should consider taking legal advice.
Wills prepared through the Barclays Will Writing Service are
on the basis that you are domiciled in England and Wales.
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Estate
The assets that you own which can be left under your
will. There are items which may not be left under your will (see joint property). Most pension provisions are not
assets which can be left under the terms of a will or
intestacy.
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Executor and Trustees
A person, persons or company named in a
will to be responsible for carrying out the terms of the will and
settling taxes and debts. We would recommend a professional executor such as
Barclays. If you want to put money or assets in trust for children the
executors / trustees will be responsible for managing this sum. You
should consider appointing more than one executor and trustee in these
circumstances, especially if a professional executor / trustee is not acting.
Executors must be 18 or over and should be capable of dealing with complex
issues.
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Grant of probate
A document issued by the court confirming both the validity of
a
will and the
executor's right to administer the estate.
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Guardians
These are people who will look after your children (if under 18
years of age) at the time of your death. A surviving parent from a marriage has
certain parental rights over the guardianship of his/her children, so you do
not need to name them. If you are not married to the parent of your child you
are advised to state your wishes with regard to guardianship, but no advice can
be given by us as to the effectiveness of your wishes. Guardians must be 18 or
over.
A civil partner who has parental responsibility for a child may
appoint another individual to be the child's guardian. If the person
appointed is a civil partner, the appointment is automatically cancelled if the
civil partnership is dissolved or revoked.
However, in most cases such an appointment will not take effect
until the death of the surviving parent. The guardian is responsible for the
welfare and upbringing of the child. Liaison between the trustee and the
guardian is required to plan for the child's financial future. Wills prepared
through the Barclays Will Writing Service include wide powers to enable
the trustees to release both capital and income to assist with maintenance,
education or benefit of any child in the care of a guardian.
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Inheritance Tax (IHT)
A tax payable, generally on death (sometimes known as "Death
Duty"). It is calculated on the value of your assets when you die, and subject
to certain exemptions and reliefs is charged at 40% above a certain limit
(£325,000 at 2009/2010 tax year).
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Intestacy
An estate where there is no
will and the law therefore directs who inherits.
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Intestate
Not having a valid
will, or a person who has not made a will.
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Issue
This means your children, their children and so on all the way
down the family tree.
Under wills prepared by the Barclays Will Writing Service, if you make a
specific gift (other than residue, for example a cash gift) to any of your
children and they pass away before you, the gift to them will fail and fall
into residue of your estate. However any share of the residue of your
estate that passes to your children can pass to their children if they pass
away before you so long as you choose this option.
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Joint property
Under English Law there are two methods of jointly owning
property with another:
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Under a beneficial joint tenancy the entire property passes
to the survivor(s) on a death.
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Under a tenancy-in-common a person's share of the property
can pass under the terms of his will (or on his intestacy).
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If you and your spouse or partner have together decided to
include in your wills any specific gifts of houses or land or other property
that you own jointly with each other, as beneficial joint tenants and these
gifts in the wills are not to your co-owner, you will need to change the way in
which you own the property jointly. If you are using the Barclays Will
Writing Service for the preparation of your will, Irwin Mitchell will be able
to help you with this.
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Legacy
A gift which you wish to leave a person or organisation upon
death. There are several types of legacy including:
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a money legacy e.g. £1000 to Mr X
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a specific legacy e.g. my gold wedding ring to my daughter
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It is important to describe the item(s) accurately to avoid confusion. Unless
you indicate otherwise any will prepared through the Barclays Will Writing
Service is prepared so that any beneficiary under the age of 18, or other
age you specify, will receive all interest and appreciation accruing up to that
age.
For gifts of a specific item and gifts of a cash sum of £5,000
or less, your will shall be prepared so that the gift will be made absolute to
that beneficiary whatever their age at the time of your death.
If you leave a house or flat, in sole ownership, to a
beneficiary you should state whether it should be passed to them with any
outstanding mortgage liability or whether such a liability should be paid by
your estate first if there are sufficient funds.
Unless you state that the gift of any property is to pass 'free
of mortgage', we will prepare your will on the basis that any outstanding
mortgage/liability will be the responsibility of the beneficiary who receives
the property.
If you ever sell or move from the house/flat you specify as a
gift, it is important that you review your will. You can however state that any
private residence you own on death passes to the named beneficiary or
beneficiaries.
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Letters of administration
As for a grant of probate, but issued to an
administrator.
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Mirror will
A
will which contains almost identical terms to your will.
Many spouses/partners have mirror wills in which they leave their estate to the
same
beneficiaries named in both wills to benefit on the death of the
surviving spouse/partner. The survivor can however still change the terms
of their will after the death of the first to pass away.
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Power of Attorney (POA)
Powers of Attorney allow you to appoint somebody to look after
your affairs should you no longer be willing to deal with them yourself. Some
types of power also allow the attorney to continue to deal with your affairs
should you become incapable of dealing with them yourself.
Property
In this connection, property means all assets (not merely
land). See
estate.
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Testate
Having a valid
will.
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Testator
A person who makes a valid
will.
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Trust
A written arrangement whereby an appointed trustee is given
money or assets to hold and manage for the benefit of those defined in the deed
or will which created the trust.
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Trustee
A company, or individuals, appointed in a will or the trust
deed to hold the trust assets and to be responsible for the management of a
trust.
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Will
A written document which when properly executed controls how a
person's assets are to be dealt with after their death. If improperly executed
the document may not constitute a will.
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Wills in expectation of marriage / civil partnership
If you and your partner intend getting married soon your
will(s) can be made 'in expectation of your marriage' which means it/they will
be valid before and after the marriage takes place. Marriage would otherwise
cancel a will. The same principle applies for partners intending to form
a civil partnership.
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Worldwide will
Unless you specify otherwise,
wills prepared through Barclays Will Writing service will cover your
worldwide assets and will cancel any other will (even one made to cover assets
outside of England and Wales). However, the law of the country in which the
assets are situated may limit the effectiveness of any gift. If you have assets
outside of England and Wales you should seek advice in the country where those
assets are situated. If you already have a foreign will which is to remain in
force or you are arranging for a foreign will to be prepared, please fill in
the details in section 1 of the instruction form under your will.
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