Thursday

It's not always 'Black and White'




....even though it may seem clear, terms and definitions are subject to interpretation...
... so it pays to be diligent.
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Starting with 'A'

'Angel' felt she should come first in this listing. It wouldn't matter if her name were Zeeyah...she'd still expect to be first. Angel is a standard donkey, gentle and kind, sometimes loud...and is quite the independent thinker (short for stubborn). She doesn't procrastinate....come to think of it...she doesn't do a lot of things.
Not unlike 'pushing a string' there are many challenges in being 'Angel'. You may have noticed that she is the
inspiration for PROTECT your Ass...oh yes, 'A' is also for Donkey...

ADVANCE DIRECTIVE: (also Health Care Directive or Representation Agreement or Living Will)
* a document (as a living will or durable power of attorney) in which a person expresses his or her wishes regarding medical treatment in the event of incapacitation

ADULT:
* a person who has reached an age specified by law

ASSET:
 * the entire property of a person, business organization, or estate that is subject to the payment of debts
* an item of property owned

BENEFICIARY:
plural -ries
* a person or entity (as a charity or estate) that receives a benefit from something: as a : the person or entity named or otherwise entitled to receive the principal or income or both from a trust

BEQUEATH:
* an act of bequeathing; also : something bequeathed


CHILD:
plural chil·dren
* a son or daughter of any age and usually including one formally adopted
NOTE: The word child as used in a statute or will is often held to include a stepchild, an illegitimate child, a person for whom one stands in loco parentis, or sometimes a more remote descendant, such as a grandchild. In interpreting the word child as used in a will, the court will try to effectuate the intent of the person who made the will as it can be determined from the language of the will.
* a person below an age specified by law

CODICIL:
* a formally executed document made after a will that adds to, subtracts from, or changes the will

COMMON PROPERTY:
 * property owned or used by more than one party
* property owned or leased by tenants in common

COMMUNITY PROPERTY:
* property held jointly by husband and wife; specifically :
property esp. from employment and debts acquired by either spouse after marriage that is deemed in states having a community property system to belong to each spouse as an undivided one-half interest

CONTINGENT BENEFICIARY
* a beneficiary that may receive proceeds from a trust depending on the occurrence of a specified event (as the death of another beneficiary)
* a beneficiary named to receive the insurance proceeds if the primary beneficiary has died called also secondary beneficiary

ESTATE:
 * the interest of a particular degree, nature, quality, or extent that one has in land or other property

(Please note that there are numerous terms related to 'ESTATE.' Many are noted below. Legal advice in the relevant jurisdiction should always be the resource that you rely upon.)
ABSOLUTE ESTATE:
* an estate that confers an absolute right to property and that is subject to no limitations, restrictions, or conditions
CONTINGENT ESTATE:
* an estate whose vesting is conditioned upon the happening or failure of some uncertain event
EQUITABLE ESTATE:
* the estate of one that has a beneficial right to property which is legally owned by a trustee or a person regarded at equity as a trustee (as in the case of a use or power)
ESTATE at SUFFERANCE:
* the estate in property held by one who remains in possession of or on the property after his or her lawful right to do so has ended
ESTATE at WILL:
* an estate in property subject to termination at the will of another person
ESTATE by the ENTIRETY:
* an estate held by a husband and wife together in which the whole property belongs to each of them and passes as a whole to the survivor upon the death of either of them to the exclusion of the deceased spouse's heirs called also estate by the entireties
ESTATE for YEARS:
* an estate that terminates after a set period
ESTATE in EXPECTANCY:
* an estate the enjoyment of which will take place at a future time
ESTATE of INHERITANCE:
* an estate that can be inherited (as a fee simple as opposed to a life estate)
ESTATE on CONDITION:
* an estate subject to a contingency whose happening permits the grantor of the estate to terminate it if he or she so chooses
ESTATE pur autre vie:
* a life estate measured by the life of a third person rather than that of the person enjoying the property
ESTATE TAIL:
plural estates tail
* an estate granted to a person and his or her direct descendants subject to a reverter or remainder upon the inheritance of the property by a grantee without direct descendants
LEGAL ESTATE:
* an estate to which one person (as a trustee) has legal title but of which another person has the right to the beneficial use
LIFE ESTATE:
* an estate in property held only during or measured in duration by the lifetime of a specified individual and esp. the individual enjoying the property
NOTE: Life estates are not estates of inheritance.
VESTED ESTATE:
* an estate in which one has a right to enjoyment currently or sometime in the future
* all or designated items of a person's or entity's property considered as a whole
BANKRUPTCY ESTATE:
* the estate of a debtor in bankruptcy that includes all the debtor's legal and equitable interests in property as set out in the bankruptcy laws called also debtor's estate
PERSONAL ESTATE:
* all of a person's property except real property; broadly : all of the property belonging to a person
SEPARATE ESTATE:
* an estate whose ownership and control is enjoyed by a person free from any rights or control of another (as a spouse)
* the assets and liabilities left by a person at death
AUGMENTED ESTATE:
* a deceased person's probate estate increased in accordance with statutory provisions and esp. by the addition of any property transferred by the deceased within two years of death, any joint tenancies, and any transfers in which the deceased retained either the right to revoke or the income for life
NOTE: In some states, the surviving spouse's elective share is distributed from the augmented estate.
GROSS ESTATE:
* the estate of a person upon death defined by federal estate laws to include all of the deceased's real and personal property at death that may be passed by will or by intestate succession as well as specified property transferred by the deceased before death
PROBATE ESTATE:
* all of a deceased person's estate that is administered under the jurisdiction of the probate court
NOTE: Some assets, such as certain insurance proceeds, generally do not become part of the probate estate and are said to “pass outside of probate.”
RESIDUARY ESTATE:
* all of what is left of an estate once the deceased person's debts and administration costs have been paid and all specific and general bequests and devises have been distributed called also residual estate
TAXABLE ESTATE:
* the estate of a deceased person that is subject to estate tax
* the aggregate of a deceased person's property considered as a legal entity
* a tract of land esp. affected by an easement
DOMINANT ESTATE:
* a tract of land that is benefited by an easement burdening a servient estate
SERVIENT ESTATE:
* a tract of land that is burdened by an easement benefiting a dominant estate

ETHICAL WILL:

 * A final personal message or document in which a person shares his or her thoughts, values, memories, life lessons, advice, and hopes for the future. The person may also ask for forgiveness and forgive others. An ethical will is not a legal document. (Credit source: National Cancer Institute)


EXECUTOR:
 * a person named by a testator to execute or carry out the instructions in a will

GUARDIAN:
* one who has or is entitled or legally appointed to the care and management of the person or property of another

HEIR:
 * one who inherits or is entitled to succeed to the possession of property after the death of its owner: as a : one who by operation of law inherits the property and esp. the real property of a person who dies without leaving a valid will —used in jurisdictions whose law is based on English common law called also heir at law heir general legal heir

INCOME BENEFICIARY:
* a beneficiary that according to the provisions of a trust is to receive income but not the principal of the trust
NOTE: A trust may provide for income to be paid to someone (as a spouse) for his or her lifetime and then for payment of the principal to another person. A trustee is sometimes allowed to distribute some of the principal of the trust to an income beneficiary when necessary for the support of the beneficiary if support of the beneficiary was the purpose of the trust. b : the person or entity named by the insured of a life insurance policy to receive the proceeds upon the insured's death

INHERIT:
* to receive (property) from an estate by operation of the laws of intestacy; broadly : to receive (property) either by will or through intestate succession

INTESTATE:
* having not made a valid will intestate>
* not disposed of by a valid will <intestate property> intestate estate>; specifically : transmitted according to statutory rules governing intestate succession
* of or relating to intestate succession

JOINT TENANCY:
* a tenancy in which two or more parties hold equal and simultaneously created interests in the same property and in which title to the entire property is to remain to the survivors upon the death of one of them (as a spouse) and so on to the last survivor joint tenancy>

LEGACY:
* a gift of property by will; specifically : a gift of personal property by will

LIVING WILL:
* a document in which the signer indicates preferences or directions for the administration and esp. the withdrawal or withholding of life-sustaining medical treatment in the event of terminal illness or permanent unconsciousness —see also Advance Directive and compare durable power of attorney at Power of Attorney

NEXT of KIN:
* one or more living persons in the nearest degree of relationship to a particular individual
* those persons entitled by statute to receive the property in an intestate's estate

POWER of ATTORNEY:
* an instrument containing an authorization for one to act as the agent of the principal that terminates esp. upon revocation by the principal or death of the principal or agent called also letter of attorney

(See various PoA designations to follow)
DURABLE POWER of ATTORNEY:
* a power of attorney that becomes effective upon the principal's becoming incompetent or unable to manage his or her affairs and that is often used as a form of advance directive
-also see Living Will
GENERAL POWER of ATTORNEY:
* a power of attorney authorizing the agent to carry on business or an enterprise for the principal -compare Special Power of Attorney
IRREVOCABLE POWER of ATTORNEY:
* a power of attorney that cannot be revoked by the principal
SPECIAL POWER of ATTORNEY:
* a power of attorney authorizing the agent to carry out a particular business transaction for the principal

PROBATE:
transitive verb
Inflected Forms: pro·bat·ed; pro·bat·ing
* to establish (a will) as valid through probate
noun
Etymology: Latin probatum, neuter of probatus, past participle of probare to test, approve, prove
* a : the process of proving in a court of competent jurisdiction (as a probate court) that an instrument is the valid last will and testament of a deceased person; broadly : the process of administering an estate b : the judicial determination that a will is valid
* the officially authenticated copy of a probated will
* matters that fall under the jurisdiction of a probate court

PROBATE COURT:
* a court that has jurisdiction over the probate of wills and administration of estates and sometimes over the affairs of minors and persons adjudged incompetent.
( there are fees , Probate Fees, charged by the courts and governance to approve the validity of a will )

PROPERTY:
* something (as an interest, money, or land) that is owned or possessed


TENANCY:
plural -cies
* the holding of or a mode of holding an estate in property: a : a form of ownership of a property : TENURE b : the temporary possession or occupancy of property that belongs to another

TRUST:
* a fiduciary relationship in which one party holds legal title to another's property for the benefit of a party who holds equitable title to the property
* an entity resulting from the establishment of such a relationship
NOTE: Trusts developed out of the old English use. The traditional requirements of a trust are a named beneficiary and trustee (who may be the settlor), an identified res, or property, to be transferred to the trustee and constitute the principal of the trust, and delivery of the res to the trustee with the intent to create a trust. Not all relationships labeled as trusts have all of these characteristics, however. Trusts are often created for their advantageous tax treatment.

( There are numerous 'Trusts' that are designed to apply to a variety of specific requirements. Consult your legal and accounting professionals for specific advice.)

TRUSTEE:
 * one to whom something is entrusted : one trusted to keep or administer something: as a : a member of a board entrusted with administering the funds and directing the policy of an institution or organization b : a country charged with the supervision of a trust territory
* a natural or legal person to whom property is committed to be administered for the benefit of a beneficiary (as a person or charitable organization) : the holder of legal title to property placed in a trust

WILL:
transitive verb
* to order or direct by will <willed that his money be given to charity>
* to dispose of by will <willed the house to their children> Function: noun
* the desire, inclination, or choice of a person or group
* the faculty of wishing, choosing, desiring, or intending
* a legal declaration of a person's wishes regarding the disposal of his or her property after death; especially : a formally executed written instrument by which a person makes disposition of his or her estate to take effect after death

( Under the category of Wills you will find many of the various types . These may or may not apply in every jurisdiction. Always consult legal opinions when in doubt.)
ANTE-NUPTIAL WILL:
* a will that was executed by a person prior to that person's marriage and is usually revocable by the court if no provision was made for the person's spouse unless an intention not to make such a provision is manifest
CONDITIONAL WILL:
* a will intended to take effect upon a certain contingency and usually construed as having absolute force when the language pertaining to the condition suggests a general purpose to make a will
HOLOGRAPHIC WILL:
* a will written out in the hand of the testator and accepted as valid in many jurisdictions provided it meets statutory requirements (as that no important parts have been altered or replaced in the hand of another and that it has been properly witnessed)
INTERNATIONAL WILL:
* a will written in any language and executed in accordance with procedures established as a result of an international convention so as to be valid as to form regardless of the location of its execution or the assets, nationality, domicile, or residence of the testator
NOTE: A properly executed international will is still subject to local probate laws; the validity deriving from adherence to statutory requirements for such wills is purely formal, and a will invalid in respect to such requirements may still be valid under other rules.
JOINT and MUTUAL:
* a single will jointly executed by two or more persons and containing reciprocal provisions for the disposition of property owned jointly, severally, or in common upon the death of one of them called also joint and reciprocal will
JOINT WILL:
* a single will jointly executed by two or more persons and containing their respective wills joint will or mutual wills does not create a presumption of a contract not to revoke the will or wills
NOTE: A joint and mutual will is a joint will, but a joint will need not contain reciprocal provisions.
MUTUAL or RECIPROCAL WILL:
* one of two separate wills that share reciprocal provisions for the disposition of property in the event of death by one of the parties mutual will executed in connection with an agreement based on sufficient consideration is both contractual and testamentary in nature
NON-INTERVENTION WILL:
* a will that provides for an executor to administer the estate without judicial involvement
POUR-OVER WILL:
* a will that provides for a transfer of assets (as the residue of the estate) to a trust (as an inter vivos trust) upon the death of the testator

WITNESS:
transitive verb
* to furnish evidence or proof of
* to act as witness of: as a : to see the execution of (an instrument) and sign for the purpose of establishing authenticity <witness a will> b : to be formally present as a witness of (as a transaction or the execution of a convict)
* to see or experience directly b : to take note of intransitive verb : to bear witness : give evidence
noun
* attestation of a fact or event witness whereof the parties have executed this release> b : evidence (as of the authenticity of a conveyance by deed) furnished by signature, oath, or seal