Court of Competent Jurisdiction
A court of competent jurisdiction is a specialized court. In the context of Last Wills, it often refers to a family or probate court. This court has jurisdiction, or in other words, legal authority in a specific field of the law.
Codicil
A codicil is a supplement or additional paragraph of your Last Will. It alters or even revokes certain details of the Will. People often choose to make a new Last Will instead of adding codicils. In most cases a Last Will starts with the person officially revoking their previously signed Wills and codicils.
Spouse
A spouse is a gender-neutral term that refers to the person you have married. Depending on national or state laws and regulations, this may extend to include your registered domestic partner. Such partners in California, for instance, often have the same legal rights as a spouse. We recommend that you check national and local laws […]
Testator
The person that creates a Last Will is called a Testator. It is their assets and estate that the executor distributes to beneficiaries. This is going to take place according to the instructions they provide with their Last Will.
Bond
A bond, or surety bond, adds a measure of accountability on the executor(s) or trustee(s). This aims to ensure that they will faithfully carry out your wishes without abusing their power. A bond is a way of protecting your property. However, it is important to remember that it can be quite expensive to enforce a […]
Beneficiary (Types)
There are many kinds of beneficiaries. A sole beneficiary is the only individual who inherits property. Having several beneficiaries means that there are multiple individuals who will inherit property according to your Last Will. Sometimes the original beneficiaries cannot or will not inherit the property. In that case, there usually is an alternate sole beneficiary. […]
Beneficiary (Definition)
This refers to the person, or in some cases organization, that benefits from your Last Will. In other words, a beneficiary is someone that receives your tangible or digital assets after your passing. There are also multiple types of beneficiaries. See also: Natural Person
Bequest
A bequest, or specific bequest, is a financial and legal term. It is a set of instructions regarding a specific asset. The instructions describe exactly who should receive that asset. For example, if you would like your guitar to end up with your best friend you can make a bequest regarding this specific asset. Specific […]
Accounting
The financial term accounting may be present in a Last Will. Specifically, accounting is complementary to a Trust that you may have set up for your children. You may require that the Trustee provides proof of their financial activities of managing the Trust. This proof is the accounting and the Trustee needs to share it […]
Affidavit
An affidavit is a sworn statement. You may be familiar with the oral version of such sworn statements at courts, when people swear to attest the truth. An affidavit is essentially the written version of that. For the vast majority of countries and states it is not necessary to include an affidavit in their Last […]