Jargon Buster
Plain-English explanations of unfamiliar terms
Probate and estate paperwork uses language most people meet only once. Search the glossary or browse alphabetically.
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Showing 21 of 21 terms
- AdministratorWills & executors
The person who deals with someone's estate when there is no valid will naming an executor.
Related terms: Personal representative · Intestacy
- AssetEstate & assets
Something of value owned by the person who died, such as a property, bank account, investment or vehicle.
Related terms: Liability · Estate
- BeneficiaryWills & executors
A person or organisation entitled to receive something from an estate.
Related terms: Residue · Will
- CodicilWills & executors
A separate signed document that changes part of an existing will.
Related terms: Will
- Date-of-death valuationEstate & assets
The value of an asset or debt as at the date the person died, used when reporting the estate.
Related terms: Asset · Estate accounts
- EstateEstate & assets
Everything the person owned and owed at the date of death, taken together as a whole.
Related terms: Asset · Liability
- Estate accountsProbate process
A summary of everything that came into and went out of the estate, and what each beneficiary received.
Related terms: Residue · Beneficiary
- ExecutorWills & executors
The person named in a will who is responsible for dealing with the estate.
Related terms: Personal representative · Grant of Probate
- Gifts out of surplus incomeGifts & giving
Regular gifts made from income rather than capital, where the giver still has enough income left to maintain their usual standard of living.
Related terms: Normal expenditure · Inheritance Tax
Official guidance- Grant of ProbateProbate process
The court document confirming an executor's authority to deal with the estate of someone who left a will.
Related terms: Letters of administration · Probate
Official guidance- Inheritance TaxTax
Tax that may be due on the value of an estate, and on some gifts made in the years before death.
Related terms: Estate · Gifts out of surplus income
Official guidance- IntestacyWills & executors
What happens when someone dies without a valid will: fixed legal rules decide who inherits.
Related terms: Administrator · Letters of administration
Official guidance- Letters of administrationProbate process
The court document giving authority to deal with an estate where there is no valid will or no available executor.
Related terms: Administrator · Intestacy
- LiabilityEstate & assets
Money the person owed at the date of death, such as a mortgage, loan, credit card or unpaid bill.
Related terms: Asset · Estate
- Normal expenditureGifts & giving
The regular spending needed to maintain the giver's usual standard of living, used when looking at gifts made from income.
Related terms: Gifts out of surplus income · Qualifying income
- Personal representativeWills & executors
The general term for whoever is legally responsible for dealing with an estate — an executor or an administrator.
Related terms: Executor · Administrator
- ProbateProbate process
The overall process of proving a will and dealing with the estate of someone who has died.
Related terms: Grant of Probate · Estate
Official guidance- Qualifying incomeGifts & giving
The income counted when working out whether regular gifts were made from income rather than capital.
Related terms: Normal expenditure · Gifts out of surplus income
- ResidueEstate & assets
What is left in an estate once debts, expenses, taxes and specific gifts have been dealt with.
Related terms: Estate accounts · Beneficiary
- Tell Us OnceProbate process
A government service that lets you report a death to most government departments in one go.
Related terms: Probate
Official guidance- WillWills & executors
A legal document setting out who should deal with someone's estate and who should inherit from it.
Related terms: Codicil · Executor