glossary of Terms. Estate & Trusts
Administrator
The person appointed by the court to manage an estate when there is no valid will; called a personal representative in some states. An administrator has the same duties as the executor of a will.
Applicable Exemption Amount
A lifetime federal estate and gift tax exemption. Transfer of property up to the applicable exemption amount generally will be exempt from the unified estate and gift tax. The applicable exemption amount is $11.7m for deaths in 2021.
Advance Medical Directive
A legal document setting out a person's wishes for end-of-life healthcare, in case someday the person is unable to communicate those wishes. Also called a living will.
Attorney-in-Fact
The individual who is given authority, in a document called a power of attorney, to act on behalf of another.
Beneficiary
Someone who receives benefits or funds under a will, trust, or contract, such as an insurance policy.
Codicil
An addition to a will, adding to or changing the terms of the will.
Community Property
A system of laws used in nine states (Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin) to determine the ownership interest of a husband and wife in property acquired during marriage.
Durable Power of Attorney
A legal document that lets someone designate another person, called an agent or attorney-in-fact, to act on his or her behalf. The agent's authority remains in place even if the person who created the durable power of attorney becomes incapacitated.
Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care
A legal document that gives someone the authority to act on another person's behalf with regard to health care decisions.
Estate
The property or assets a person owns or has rights to.
Estate Tax
A tax imposed at one's death on the transfer of property. The federal government imposes estate tax on very large estates. Minnesota imposes an estate tax on estates above $3m.
Executor
The person named in a will to manage the deceased person's estate; called the personal representative in Minnesota. The personal representative collects the property, pays any debt, and distributes the remaining property according to the terms of the will.
Fiduciary
A person or institution legally responsible for the management, investment, and distribution of funds. A fiduciary has a legal obligation to act in the best interest of the person for whom he or she is serving.
Grantor
The person who creates a trust and transfers assets into it for the benefit of another. Also called settlor or trustor.
Gross Estate
The total property or assets held by an individual at death, as defined for federal estate tax purposes.
Guardian
The person legally entrusted with the care of a minor child.
Health Care Directive
A legal document setting out a person's wishes for end-of-life healthcare, in case someday the person is unable to communicate those wishes. Also called an advance medical directive.
Incapacity
The lack of ability to act on your behalf.
Inter vivos
In Latin, "between the living." Sometimes used instead of "living trust," a type of trust created by a living settlor to hold property for the benefit of another.
Intestacy, Intestate
The term applied when an individual dies without a valid will.
Irrevocable
Describing something that cannot be changed or terminated--for example, certain kinds of trusts.
Joint Tenancy with Right of Survivorship
A way of holding title to co-owned property. At the death of one of the co-owners, the other will become the sole owner of the property, regardless of what may the deceased owner's will says.
Living Trust
A revocable trust established by a grantor during his or her lifetime in which the grantor transfers some or all of his or her property into the trust.
Marital Deduction
A deduction allowing for the unlimited transfer of property from one spouse to the other free of federal estate and gift tax.
Minor
A person who has not yet reached the legal age of majority, 18 in most states.
Personal Representative
Another term for executor or administrator.
Power of Appointment
A right given to another in a document, such as a will or trust, that allows the other to decide how to distribute property. The power of appointment is "general" if it places no restrictions on who may receive the property. A power is "limited" or "special" if it limits the eventual distributees.
Probate
The court-supervised process of wrapping up a deceased person’s financial affairs. The court appoints an executor, rules on the validity of the will, and supervises the executor, who pays debts and taxes and eventually distributes the property to inheritors.
Testamentary Trust
A trust that is created at death, by the terms of a will.
Trust
An arrangement under which one person, the grantor, creates a trust, transfers property to it, and appoints a trustee. The trustee manages trust property for the benefit of another, called a beneficiary.
Trustee
The person named in a trust document who manages the property held in trust. A trustee can be an individual or a corporate fiduciary.
Will
A legal document controlling the disposition of a person’s property at death.
practice areas
adoption can be a complex process, after all it is the process by which a legal and permanent parent-child relationship is created through a court proceeding. Our adoption attorneys can assist in a consultative role by explaining the overall process, drafting and filing paperwork, and representing you in court to finalize the adoption.
estates & trusts law is a natural fit for our family law and adoption practice. Significant life transitions such as the birth or adoption of a child, marriage or divorce, or the passing of a loved one, remind us that estate plan documents such as a will, may need to be updated, or new documents drafted.
family law when you are experiencing life changes such as marriage, divorce, adoption, the birth of a child, parenting time, or financial challenges due to a job change. We are here to help you move through change, to move forward with your life. We may not be able to address every aspect related to change, such as the emotional impact. We can help with legal aspects when change is necessary or inevitable.