Glossary

Administrator - these are the people who sort out things not covered by your Will.

Beneficiary - a person who receives something from your estate.

Bequest - a sum of money or specific item left to a beneficiary.

Chattels and movables - personal possessions, car, tools, furniture etc. but not house and land.

Codicil - an addition, amendment or supplement to an existing Will (please note that if there is a legal flaw in the original, a codicil will not correct it).

Crown - if you have no relatives and no Will, the Crown will receive the sum of your estate.

Estate - everything you own or have a share in at the time of your death. For tax purposes, this can include gifts made in the last seven years of your life.

Executor(s) - the person(s) or organisations(s) that you appoint to administer your Will (note that they can refuse the task even if they agreed in your lifetime).

Executrix - female of executor.

Inheritance tax - the current threshold is £325,000 (2023/2024 tax year); plus the new main residence band of £175,000 giving a total allowance of £500,000, a anything above this threshold is taxed at 40% (at the time of writing, March 2024) or at 36% for anyone donating 10% or more of a professional will be able to advise you on how to minimise the impact on Inheritance Tax.

Intestate - the term that the law uses to describe one who dies without a Will or no valid Will.

Intestacy - the state of being intestate Legacy - a specific sum left to a beneficiary.

Probate - the legal process of validating the Will and appointing an administrator if needed.

Residue - what is left of your estate when all bequests, debts, legal and funeral costs have been deducted.

Residual Bequest - the gift of the residue of your estate; this is conditional on there being a residue.

Spouse - the person to whom you are legally married. Marriage usually nullifies previous Wills.

Testator - yourself, if you are making your own Will.

Testatrix - female term of testator.

Trustee - the name for an executor who is appointed to handle whatever part of your estate that has