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In common law, an estate is a living or deceased person's net worth. It is the sum of a person's assets – the legal rights, interests, and entitlements to property of any kind – less all liabilities at a given time. The issue is of special legal significance on a question of bankruptcy and death of the person.
In common law jurisdictions, probate is the judicial process whereby a will is "proved" in a court of law and accepted as a valid public document that is the true last testament of the deceased; or whereby, in the absence of a legal will, the estate is settled according to the laws of intestacy that apply in the state where the deceased resided at the time of their death.
Testate – person who dies having created a will before death. Testator – person who executes or signs a will; that is, the person whose will it is. The antiquated English term of Testatrix was used to refer to a female. [9] Trustee – a person who has the duty under a will trust to ensure that the rights of the beneficiaries are upheld.
Probating an estate is an expensive, time-consuming and sometimes adversarial affair. It is possible, and sometimes advisable, to avoid probate. With the help of an estate planner and, perhaps, an ...
The ownership of a life estate is of limited duration because it ends at the death of a person. Its owner is the life tenant (typically also the 'measuring life') and it carries with it right to enjoy certain benefits of ownership of the property, chiefly income derived from rent or other uses of the property and the right of occupation, during his or her possession.
Estate planning is the process of anticipating and arranging for the management and disposal of a person's estate during the person's life in preparation for future incapacity or death. The planning includes the bequest of assets to heirs, loved ones, and/or charity , and may include minimizing gift, estate, and generation-skipping transfer taxes .
In law, an "heir" (FEM: heiress) is a person who is entitled to receive a share of property from a decedent (a person who died), subject to the rules of inheritance in the jurisdiction where the decedent was a citizen, or where the decedent died or owned property at the time of death.
In common law jurisdictions, a personal representative or legal personal representative is a person appointed by a court to administer the estate of another person. If the estate being administered is that of a deceased person, the personal representative is either an executor if the deceased person left a will or an administrator of an intestate estate. [1]