Introduction

When you are dealing with the admin around inheritance or planning for end-of-life you may come across lots of new and unfamiliar terms. We’ve put together a list of words and phrases with clear explanations, for you to refer to when you need it.

For more in-depth information and explanations, have a look at the other articles in Trustestate’s learn section.

List of probate and end-of-life terminology

Administrator

An administrator is the person who is given the legal authority to sort out someone’s estate when they didn’t write a will. An administrator has a similar role to an executor (who is named in a will).

Assets

Someone’s assets are made up of the money, investments, property (such as houses and flats) and possessions they own. Someone’s assets make up part of their estate.

Beneficiary

A beneficiary is someone who receives an inheritance after someone dies. Beneficiaries are usually family, friends and other individuals named in someone’s will. If there isn’t a will, and someone died intestate, the rules of intestacy decide who will be the beneficiary/beneficiaries.

Debt

Debt is any money owed to a person or organisation, whether it’s from credit cards, loans, mortgages or anything else. When someone dies, if they had any debts or liabilities these become part of their estate, subject to certain legal procedures and considerations.

Enduring power of attorney

An enduring power of attorney (EPA) is a legal document made before 2007 giving someone the power to make decisions about someone’s property and money when they no longer can. After 2007 EPAs were replaced with Lasting Power of Attorney, although EPAs signed before 1 October 2007 are still valid.

Estate

The estate of someone who’s died is made up of the money, investments, property (such as houses and flats) and possessions they owned. These things are also often called assets. Anything  they owe to others (any debts and liabilities) is subtracted from the value of the assets to make up the estate.

Estate planning

Estate planning is when you think about how you will pass on your money, property and possessions after you die. Good planning will make sure your wishes are carried out, and can save time and money for your beneficiaries.

Executor

An executor is a person named in someone’s will. They are the person who will be given the job of carrying out the wishes of the person who died. There can be one or more executors.

Financial adviser

A financial adviser is a regulated professional who can help you make informed decisions about your money. Advice from a financial adviser is not free (although usually your first meeting will be free to help you understand what they can offer). But it can help you save money in the long term and avoid costly mistakes.

Grant of probate

A grant of probate is the legal document which gives executors the right to deal with someone’s property and possessions after they die. A Grant of Probate is the document you’ll get if the person left a will. If they didn’t leave a will, you’ll get a Grant of Letters of Administration instead. Getting the Grant of Probate from the Court is a key stage in the probate process, and is often simply called ‘getting probate’.

IHT

Inheritance tax is sometimes shortened to ‘IHT’.

Inheritance tax

Inheritance tax is a tax on the estate (money, property, possessions, shares, etc) of someone who died. Inheritance tax is paid from the estate before the rest is shared out to the beneficiaries. There is an inheritance tax threshold which means smaller estates may not pay tax. The value of the estate and some other factors will determine the size of the inheritance tax bill.

Intestate

When someone dies and hasn’t written a will, we say they died ‘intestate’. Their money and possessions are shared out according to special legal rules, called the ‘rules of intestacy’.

Lasting Power of Attorney

A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is a document which allows a trusted person to make decisions on someone else’s behalf when they can’t do it themselves. There are two types of LPA – financial and health.

Letter/letters of administration

‘A Grant of Letters of Administration’ is a document that names an administrator for an estate of someone who died without a will. The administrator is the person (or people) who can legally deal with the money, property, investments and possessions of the person. It has a similar function to a grant of probate (the document used when someone did leave a will naming executors).

Lifetime gift

If you give money, property or valuable possessions to someone while you are still alive it is called a lifetime gift. In some situations the value of these gifts are counted as part of your estate when you die (and may sometimes be taxed).

LPA

‘Lasting power of attorney’ is often shortened to ‘LPA’.

Next of kin

Next of kin is the term used to describe your closest living relative. Your next of kin may be called on in medical emergencies, and knowing who is next of kin might also be important when it comes to some critical financial and inheritance questions. In the UK, next of kin has no strict legal definition.

Probate

Probate is the legal process of sorting out all the property, money, possessions and debt of someone who’s died. Going through probate usually includes gathering a lot of information, applying for a Grant of Probate, selling property and possessions, and sharing out what’s left.

Property

When someone has died the word ‘property’ usually means any houses, flats or other buildings that they owned. Other things they owned are usually referred to as possessions.

Will

A will is a legal document where someone records what they want to happen to their money, possessions and property after they die. It can also record important decisions such as who should be guardian to any children, and may be used to record other wishes (e.g. regarding funerals).

How Trustestate can help

Dealing with everything that needs to be done when someone dies can be a challenging and overwhelming process. Let Trustestate cut through the jargon for a fixed transparent fee. We offer a simple, streamlined service with expert support at every stage.

What we offer

Use our Complete Probate service and we’ll manage every stage of the process – we’ll take over all the admin, apply to the court for probate, and share out the estate. Or if the estate is simple and you have time, you can use our Grant of Probate service, and we’ll apply for probate using information you provide. Whichever service you choose, you’ll get dedicated advice every step of the way, and an online platform to keep track of everything. Book a free call with one of our experts to find out more.