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Cumberland County Surrogate Office
Glossary of Legal Terms
- Administrator, Administratrix (also known as Personal Representative)
- Person or institution appointed by the court to manage and distribute the estate of a person who dies without a will.
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- Beneficiary
- Person named to receive property or benefits.
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- Codicil
- An addition or supplement made to change or add provisions to a will.
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- Contingent beneficiary
- Receiver or property or benefits if first-named beneficiary dies before receiving all benefits.
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- Contract
- Legally enforceable agreement.
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- Decedent
- A deceased person.
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- Devise
- To give real or Personal Property.
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- Estate
- Everything a person owns, all real and personal property owned.
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- Executor, Executrix (also known as a Personal Representative)
- A person or institution named in the will to carry out the provisions and directions of the will.
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- Intestate
- A person who dies without making a valid will.
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- Legatee
- Person who receives personal property under a will.
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- Levied
- To collect by assessment.
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- Lien
- A charge upon property, real or personal, for the satisfaction of a debt.
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- Personal property
- Intangible property, such as stocks, bonds, or bank accounts; and tangible property such as furniture, automobile, jewelry.
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- Probate
- Official proof of the genuineness of a will.
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- Real Property
- Land and buildings.
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- Surrogate
- A judicial officer who has jurisdiction over the probate of wills in the absence of a contest and acts as the Clerk of the Probate Court in the settlement of estates, guardianships, and trusts.
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- Tenants in common
- Two or more persons owning individual interests in property.
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- Testator, Testatrix
- The person who makes a will.
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- Trust
- Property owned and managed by one person for the benefit of another.
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- Trustee
- Person or institution holding property in trust.
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- Waiver
- A legal instrument relinquishing a right or lien.
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- Will
- A legal declaration of the manner in which a person wishes his estate divided after death.
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- Witness
- Person who observed the signing of a will and also attests to the signatures.
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