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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:
there is no will
the will does not appoint an executor
the named executor is unable or unwilling to act.

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:
Under a beneficial joint tenancy the entire property passes to the survivor(s) on a death.
Under a tenancy-in-common a person's share of the property can pass under the terms of his will (or on his intestacy).

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:
a money legacy e.g. £1000 to Mr X
a specific legacy e.g. my gold wedding ring to my daughter

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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