Legacy - Gift of personal or moveable property (including cash, shares etc.) in a Will. Someone who receives a legacy is a legatee

Devise - Gift of real or immovable property such as land, houses or flats in a Will

Bequest - Generic term used to cover both legacies and devises

Testamentary Expenses - The legal costs of winding up your Estate

Estate - Everything you own at the time of your death

Residuary Estate - Everything you own at the time of your death less any legacies or devises you have made, your debts, funeral expenses and costs of winding up your Estate

Beneficiary - Generic term for any person who benefits under a Will

Guardian - Person appointed by Will to take over such parental rights as you may have over any child of yours under 18 at your death

Trust - Arrangement by which a person, the Trustee, holds legal ownership of money or property for the benefit of another person

Intestacy/Intestate - Dying without having made a Will. The law then states how your Estate is distributed, usually to close relatives. There is no provision under the intestacy laws for unmarried partners, whether the same or differing sex

Administrator - The person entitled at law to administer your Estate if you die without a Will, that is intestate

Codicil - A formal amendment to a Will. Technology has made these rare now

Probate - The application to Court after someone dies to prove the Will is valid and which results in authority being granted to the Executors via a Grant of Probate after any tax due is paid

Letters of Administration - The application to Court after someone dies without a Will to prove that the person applying is entitled to administer the Estate and perhaps take a share of it

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