The assets of a deceased asset owner.

A tax-exempt trust designed to reduce taxes by first providing income to beneficiaries, then donating the remainder to charity.

A sum of money, assets, or debentures owed to a third party. Liabilities are recorded on the right side of the balance sheet.

Property that is not money or land/house.

Property that has economic value owned by a person, business, or country.

Land, anything that grows, is attached, or erected on the real estate.

Property owned by one spouse only.

Property owned jointly by two spouses in community property states (Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin).

The persons that will inherit from you according to state intestacy law.

To die without a will.

An actual parcel of land, i.e., dirt.

Along the lines, meaning children of a person inherit their share of property if they predecease you.

A person who benefits from a trust or other property.

A trust created by you during your lifetime, also known as Inter Vivos Trust.

A trust created by your will.

A person responsible for making decisions for another person, which decisions cannot be overridden by the principal.

The court process for admitting a Will and appointing a Personal Representative to do what the Will directs.

A person who creates a Trust.

The document that tells your family and doctors what your wishes are at the end of your life if you can no longer speak for yourself.

A trust created for the benefit of a person who is disabled or has other special needs.

The person appointed by the court to administer a deceased person's estate.

A person appointed by a testator to carry out the directions in their will.

To die with a will.

Court documents appointing someone to administer the estate of a person who died without a will.

A person who acts on behalf of another person and has a legal duty to act in their best interest.

A tax on the transfer of property after death, based on the total value of the deceased's assets.

A written declination of a testamentary gift, allowing the inheritance to pass to the next beneficiary.

A formal request filed with the probate court by someone to whom the deceased owed money.

Legal authority allowing a personal representative to administer an estate with minimal court supervision.

A trust created after one spouse's death to protect assets for the surviving spouse while preserving eligibility for government benefits.

A period of Medicaid ineligibility triggered by transferring assets for less than fair market value.

A legal arrangement that provides for the care and maintenance of companion animals in the event of the owner's disability or death.

A contract between spouses that determines the character of property as separate or community.

A bank account designation that allows the named beneficiary to receive the funds upon the owner's death without probate.

A designation for securities accounts that transfers ownership to named beneficiaries upon death without probate.

A trust designed to maximize estate tax exemptions for married couples, also known as a Bypass Trust.

Another name for a Credit Shelter Trust, designed to bypass estate taxation on the second spouse's death.

A Qualified Terminable Interest Property trust that provides income to a surviving spouse while preserving the principal for other beneficiaries.

A trust created for beneficiaries other than a spouse.

A trust created specifically for the benefit of a surviving spouse.

A trust that provides for the support and maintenance of a beneficiary.

A person who receives trust assets after the death of the primary beneficiary.

A special signature guarantee for transferring securities, more secure than a notarization.

A gift made during the donor's lifetime that is intended to be part of the recipient's inheritance.

Legal notice presumed by law to have been given even though actual notice was not personally delivered.

A clause in a trust that prevents beneficiaries from transferring their interest and protects assets from creditors.

A trust established in a foreign jurisdiction to protect assets from domestic creditors.

Legal documents issued by a probate court that grant authority to an executor to administer a deceased person's estate.

A self-settled trust in certain U.S. states that can protect assets from the creator's creditors.

A trust that provides income to charity for a specified period, then transfers the remainder to non-charitable beneficiaries.