Wills, Trusts and Probate Disputes Glossary
Administrator
Alternative Dispute Resolution
Alzheimers
Beneficiary
Constructive Trust
Contested Will
Dementia
District Judge
Estate
Execution
Executor
Fully Secret Trust
Geriatricians
Grant of Letters of Administration
Grant of Probate
Grant of representation
Half Secret Trust
Inheritance tax
Interim Grants
Intermeddling
Intestacy rules
Intestate
Legatee
Mediation
Mediator
Mirror Will (Normally wills drafted by couples)
Mutual Will
Personal representative
Probate
Probate Registrar
Probate Registry
Promissory Estoppel
Proprietary Estoppel
Psychogeriatricians
Queens Bench
Resulting Trust
Sham Trust
Summons
Testamentary Capacity
The Chancery Divison
Trust
Trustee
Undue Influence
Warning
Without Prejudice
Administrator - The persons appointed by law to administer your estate when you die without leaving a Will.
Alternative Dispute Resolution - Different methods of resolving disputes outside the Court process sometimes referred to as mediation.
Alzheimers - A progressive form of dementia. Symptoms can include impaired memory which is followed by impaired thought and speech.
Beddoe Application - An application by an executor or a trustee for the Court’s permission to bring or defend proceedings on behalf of the estate or trust regarding costs.
Beneficiary - A person who is entitled to benefit from an estate.
Caveat - A notice in writing preventing a Grant of Probate being extracted at the Probate Registry.
Constructive Trust - A constructive trust is imposed by the law as an "equitable remedy." This generally occurs due to some wrongdoing, where the wrongdoer has acquired legal title to some property and cannot in good conscience be allowed to benefit from it.
Contested Will - To call into question and dispute or challenge a Will.
Dementia - Deterioration of intellectual faculties, such as memory, concentration, and judgment.
District Judge - A Judge sitting in one of the District Registries in England and Wales.
Estate - Property owned by you including land, buildings, bank accounts, life policies, etc.
Execution - This refers to the signing of a document.
Executor - A person appointed under the terms of the will to administer the deceased’s estate.
Fully Secret Trust - The existence of, or the terms of the trust, not on the face of the Will. Only the person making the Will and the trustee of the Fully Secret Trust know of its existence and its terms.
Geriatricians - Medical doctors specialising in the assessment and treatment of elderly people.
Grant of Letters of Administration - The document issued by the Court giving authority to the Administrators to administer an estate.
Grant of Probate - The document issued by the Court giving authority to the Executors to administer an estate.
Grant of representation - A grant of probate or letters of administration.
Half Secret Trust - This is where the Will reveals that there is a trust but does not reveal its terms. Only the person making the Will and the trustee of the Half Secret Trust know of its terms.
Inheritance tax - The tax payable as a result of a person’s death. It only applies if the taxable value of your estate when you die is above £325,000 at a rate of 40% for every £1 there after.
Interim Grants - Grants generally designed to protect the assets of the estate pending a full grant of administration.
Intermeddling - Generally a description applied to the activities of a person who acts as an executor/administrator. Once a person acts in this capacity they are said to have intermeddled.
Intestacy rules - The rules which govern how your estate should be distributed if you die without leaving a Will.
Intestate – If you die without leaving a Will you are said to die intestate and the law decides how your estate will be distributed.
Legatee - A person or organization receiving a gift of an object or money under the terms of the will of a person who has died.
Mediation - A form of alternative dispute resolution in which an independent and impartial third party attempts to promote and facilitate negotiation and agreement between two or more parties in dispute.
Mediator - A negotiator who facilitates resolution between disputing parties and acts as a link between them.
Mirror Will (Normally wills drafted by couples) – Wills that are near identical in terms.
Mutual Will - Mutual Wills are generally intended to be irrevocable and are generally enforceable as contracts.
Personal representative - The name for the people responsible for the administration of a deceased’s estate.
Probate - The ‘Proving’ of a Will by sending it to the Probate Registry.
Probate Registrar - The senior civil servant at each Probate Registry in England & Wales who has jurisdiction to make decisions relating to estates and the administration of those estates.
Probate Registry - The Government Department that issues Grants of Probate/Letters of Administration.
Promissory Estoppel - A promise made to another party where the other party relies on what was told to them in good faith and ends in their disadvantage.
Proprietary Estoppel - A clear and unequivocal promise or assurance from A to B that at some defined point in the future B would obtain some or all of A’s property and upon which B relies to his detriment.
Psychogeriatricians - Medical doctors who specialise in the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness in older people.
Queens Bench - The Queens Bench Division is one of the three divisions of the High Court along with the Chancery Division and the Family Division. Cases covered by the Queens Bench Division include personal injury, negligence, breach of contract, breach of statutory duty and defamation.
Resulting Trust – A trust created by a court when it is judged that it was the intention of the parties to create a trust.
Sham Trust - A trust where there is no real intention to vest the assets of the trust in the trustees and where the trust vehicle has simply been used to further some ulterior motive be it to frustrate claims against the asset or the trustee or the beneficiary.
Summons - A request, at the instance of the applying party, by the Court that the parties listed in the Summons attend Court on the date and at the time stipulated in the Summons for a hearing.
Testamentary Capacity - This refers to the mental capacity of a person to make his or her last Will. There is a specific legal test to help determine whether or not someone possessed testamentary capacity at the relevant point in time.
The Chancery Divison - The Chancery Division is one of the other three divisions of the High Court. The Chancery Division undertakes civil work of many kinds, including specialist work such as companies, patents and contentious probate work.
Trust - One or more persons hold property for the benefit of others (the beneficiaries). A Trustee is the person who is acting in the trust and holds the property for the benefit of someone else.
Trustee - A person who holds property and/or assets on trust for another and who is entrusted with the administration of the trust in which the property and/or assets are comprised.
Undue Influence - This refers to the actions of one person who coerces another person, against their will, to do something. Mere persuasion will not amount to undue influence. In contested probate cases, actual coercion must be shown.
Warning - A prescribed notice issued by a District Probate Registry warning the caveator to file another document (called an Appearance) within 8 days which effectively requires him to stipulate his interest which is contrary to the person issuing the Warning or to ask the Court for a hearing (by way of issuing a summons for a hearing).
Without Prejudice - A term often used by parties when negotiating. If offers are made under the without prejudice banner, the offers are not considered by the Court until after judgment.
