terms of art Flashcards
Solemn form
- Notice to all interested parties and involves litigation
1) Final judgement cannot be reopened once the appeals period as passed
Common form
- ex-parte proceeding that moves along through affidavits of the executor/personal representative
- may be reopened by interested party even after distribution of the decedents property for a period of years
Executor
person designated in the will to admin the estate if the decedent died testate
Administrator
person designated in the will to admin the estate if the decedent died intestate
Marshalling the assets
inventory of the decedents estate
Ancillary Administration
admin of an estate in a diff state than the state of domicile
Putative Spouses
- people who have a good faith belief that they are legally married but because of some defect in the process are not
- Treated as legal spouses or at very least entitled to some marital benefits
Voidable Marriages
marries that were illegal when entered into but treated as valid if upon the illegality dissolves they continued to live as husband and wife and didn’t renounce their marriages
Trustee
legal owner but usually doesn’t have the power to enjoy the property
Trust
imposed on the property and the trustee operates under constraints
Donor (PoA)
Owner
Donee (PoA)
Person receiving power
Appointee (PoA)
Person getting property
Objects (PoA)
Class of people able to receive
Exclusive Power (PoA)
One that is exercised in a way that excludes some permissible appointees
Non-exclusive power (PoA)
Donee must give at least some amount to every permissible
Power in gross (PoA)
Donee of a power has another interest in the property (like a life estate etc)
Collateral Power (PoA)
Donee has no other interest in property other than power itself
Purging Statutes
“purging” statutes delete the gift to the interested witness so that the will is not denied probate
Self-proving affidavit
- avow that all statutory requirements of will execution were followed and not just the testator signed the last page
- Need two witnesses and notary in most cases for this
Stand by trust
unfunded trust
Attestation clause
states testator freely signed the doc as will and requested witnesses affix their signatures to the instruments
Conscious presence test
Doesn’t need to actually see the witnesses it is enough he knew they are signing the will as a witness
Probate
- Process of proving the validity of a will
- Describing the entire administration process when supervised by a court
- To distinguish between property titled in the decedents name that needs to be administered after death, and property that passes to a joint owner or beneficiary without any legal process
Bucket 1 Property ; probate
Anything that decedent owns in their name outright at death
Goes through probate and laws of intestacy
Debt is paid here first
Ex: house in their name, art, online accounts, car, furnishings, personal property
Bucket 2; Non probate property
Decedent owns but it is held in a manner that transfers automatically at death to someone else
Debt is paid here if not enoguh in bucket 1
Ex: JT, life insurance, property in trust
Bucket 3; property that terminates at death
S.S. benefits, life estate, income in trusts, pension trusts
ERISA
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) is a federal law that sets minimum standards for most voluntarily established retirement and health plans in private industry to provide protection for individuals in these plans.
Generation skipping taxes
The GSTT was implemented to prevent families from avoiding the estate tax for one or more generations by making gifts or bequests directly to grandchildren or great-grandchildren. The parent’s generation is skipped to avoid an inheritance being subject to estate taxes twice.
