Probate Terminology
Administrator - a personal representative who has been given the authority to manage and settle the estate of a deceased person with no executor, or if the one who is assigned is unable, or unwilling, to act.
Beneficiary - a person or entity defined in a legal document to inherit property. A beneficiary can be named in a will, trust, or bank account.
Conservator - a person appointed by the court to manage the affairs of a person who does not have the capacity to manage their own affairs. The conservator may be appointed as a conservator of the person for handling their personal matters such as healthcare and living arrangements, or as the estate’s conservator, in which case the person manages the financial matters. The conservator may also be appointed for both.
Decedent - the person who has died.
Deed - a legal document that grants its holder ownership of real property and is used to transfer ownership from one person to another.
Estate - all of the property, both personal and real, owned by a decedent at death.
Executor - a personal representative who has been appointed by the testator to settle the estate of a testator according to the terms of a will.
Guardian - a person who is appointed by the court to take care of a minor child. The guardian may be appointed as a guardian of the person or a guardian of the estate or both.
Heir - a person who is entitled to inherit property from someone who passed away, a decedent, who has not left a last will and testament or a trust. Under California’s intestacy law, heirs will inherit the decedent’s property based on rules of descent and distribution.
Intestate - a person who has died without having a will made. The property distribution will be made based on the state’s laws of descent and distribution: the state’s intestacy laws.
Personal Property - any asset that is moveable and is not real property. This includes cars, boats, furniture, photographs, jewelry, bank accounts, investment accounts, and retirement accounts.
Personal Representative - a person who manages another person’s financial affairs who is unable to do so. The personal representative can be appointed by a court, selected by a living person who is a minor or incapacitated, or identified in a will as the executor or administrator for a deceased person’s estate. A legal personal representative appointed by the court serves as a fiduciary either in an executor’s capacity if there is a will, or an administrator, if there is no will, and the deceased person died intestate. The personal representative must act in the best interest of the estate’s beneficiaries or heirs or the living person that the personal representative represents. Their actions are supervised by the probate courts and governed by California state law.
Probate Referee - appraises all estate assets, both personal and real property. The appraisal prepared by the probate referee is required for court resolution of an estate as well as trust administration. The California State Controller appoints the probate referee as an officer of the court.
Real Property - real estate and the interests, benefits, and rights inherent in its ownership. Real estate is the land and anything permanently attached to it, such as a building and vegetation, including trees and plants. A building that is not attached to land is not real property. If it is attached to the land, it becomes real property. Real property includes the home where the decedent resided, a vacation home, and any investment properties owned, such as apartments or office buildings.
Testator/Testatrix - a deceased person who has created a will.
Will - a legal document identifying the decedent’s wishes regarding the distribution of assets and identifying who will manage the estate at the time of death.
"Source: Orit Gadish, The Practitioner's Handbook for Probate Real Estate"
*** Information contained in this Memo is intended for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or opinion, nor is it a substitute for the professional judgment of an attorney. It is likely considered advertising. ***
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