| Administration | Personal representative of a person who has died without a will or without appointing an executor |
| Beneficiary | The person or organization receiving part of the estate or benefitting under a trust |
| Capital gains tax | The tax charged on the increase in value of assets between acquisition and disposal |
| Caveat | A legal device which will prevent a personal representative from being able to obtain a grant of representation |
| Chattels | Personal possessions |
| Codicil | A document written by a testator which varies a Will |
| Deed of variation | A document written by a beneficiary of an estate to vary the distribution of his share of the estate |
| Discretionary trust | A flexible trust where the trustees can decide how and when to give assets to a beneficiary |
| Domicile | The tax concept that governs the chargeability of inheritance tax in the UK |
| Estate | Everything owned by the deceased on the date of death |
| Executor | Someone appointed under a Will to act as a deceased’s personal representative |
| Guardian | The person, after the death of the parents, appointed to look after the interests and welfare of children under the age of 18 |
| Grant of representation | The legal document (e.g., probate or letters of administration) needed by the personal representative to administer an estate |
| Inheritance tax | The tax that arises when someone dies or sometimes when gifts are made into trust during your lifetime |
| Interest in possession | The right to receive the income generated by the assets held on trust |
| Intestacy | The legal rules that apply when someone dies without a Will |
| Joint tenancy | A way to own property and ensure that on death it will pass to the surviving owner, irrespective of the terms of any Will |
| Legacy | A specific gift under a Will |
| Legatee | The person who receives a specific gift under a Will |
| Letters of administration | The legal document issued to an administrator to enable the estate to be administered |
| Liabilities | What is owed by the deceased at the time of death and which are deductible for inheritance tax purposes |
| Nil rate band | The amount we can all give away which will be free of inheritance tax |
| Oath | The document that a personal representative needs to swear before the grant of representation can be issued |
| Personal representative | The person who is responsible for administering the deceased’s estate |
| Power reserved | When an appointed executor doesn’t take out a grant of representation but might still want to act as an executor in the future |
| Probate | The legal document issued to an executor confirming the validity of the Will and enabling the executor to administer the estate |
| Probate registry | The branch of the High Court responsible to overseeing the administration of estates |
| Renunciation | The procedure an appointed executor will need to follow if decides he never wants to act in the estate |
| Residuary estate | The bulk of the estate after the payment of legacies, liabilities and any expenses connected with the administration of the estate |
| Settlement | Another name for a trust |
| Tenancy in common | A way to own property jointly but still control the destination of your share of the property on death |
| Testator | Someone who makes a Will |
| Transferable nil rate band | A second nil rate band available on the death of a surviving spouse or civil partner |
| Trust | Where assets are held on certain terms by trustees for beneficiaries |
| Trustee | Someone who holds assets in trust for the benefit of someone else |
| Will | The document that records your wishes about the distribution of your estate |
