terms of art

Question 1

Solemn form

Answer 1

• Notice to all interested parties and involves litigation
  1) Final judgement cannot be reopened once the appeals period as passed

Question 2

Common form

Answer 2

• 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

Question 3

Executor

Answer 3

person designated in the will to admin the estate if the decedent died testate

Question 4

Administrator

Answer 4

person designated in the will to admin the estate if the decedent died intestate

Question 5

Marshalling the assets

Answer 5

inventory of the decedents estate

Question 6

Ancillary Administration

Answer 6

admin of an estate in a diff state than the state of domicile

Question 7

Putative Spouses

Answer 7

• 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

Question 8

Voidable Marriages

Answer 8

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

Question 9

Trustee

Answer 9

legal owner but usually doesn’t have the power to enjoy the property

Question 10

Trust

Answer 10

imposed on the property and the trustee operates under constraints

Question 11

Donor (PoA)

Answer 11

Owner

Question 12

Donee (PoA)

Answer 12

Person receiving power

Question 13

Appointee (PoA)

Answer 13

Person getting property

Question 14

Objects (PoA)

Answer 14

Class of people able to receive

Question 15

Exclusive Power (PoA)

Answer 15

One that is exercised in a way that excludes some permissible appointees

Question 16

Non-exclusive power (PoA)

Answer 16

Donee must give at least some amount to every permissible

Question 17

Power in gross (PoA)

Answer 17

Donee of a power has another interest in the property (like a life estate etc)

Question 18

Collateral Power (PoA)

Answer 18

Donee has no other interest in property other than power itself

Question 19

Purging Statutes

Answer 19

“purging” statutes delete the gift to the interested witness so that the will is not denied probate

Question 20

Self-proving affidavit

Answer 20

• 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

Question 21

Stand by trust

Answer 21

unfunded trust

Question 22

Attestation clause

Answer 22

states testator freely signed the doc as will and requested witnesses affix their signatures to the instruments

Question 23

Conscious presence test

Answer 23

Doesn’t need to actually see the witnesses it is enough he knew they are signing the will as a witness

Question 24

Probate

Answer 24

1. Process of proving the validity of a will
2. Describing the entire administration process when supervised by a court
3. 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

Question 25

Bucket 1 Property ; probate

Answer 25

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

Question 26

Bucket 2; Non probate property

Answer 26

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

Question 27

Bucket 3; property that terminates at death

Answer 27

S.S. benefits, life estate, income in trusts, pension trusts

Question 28

ERISA

Answer 28

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.

Question 29

Generation skipping taxes

Answer 29

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.