NALs Exam Vocab 1-50

341 meeting

Often called the creditor's meeting. In bankruptcy, first meeting of creditors and, Equity security holders at which time a trustee may be elected and the debtor examined under oath.

341 Notice

A notice given by the bankruptcy court to all Creditors of a meeting of creditors; also known as the notice to creditors.

Acceptance

In contracts, the situation occurring when the offeree is In total agreement with the offeror.

Access or secondary physical custody

Also called visitation, the right of the noncustodial parent for reasonable access to the child or children.

Accord (and satisfaction)

Accord is accepting a substituted item or service in place of the one promised in the original contract. Satisfaction occurs when the substitution is accepted.

Accredited Legal Professional (ALP)

The basic certification designed for the individual at the apprentice level of the legal support staff.

Acknowledgement

Consists of a statement that the person who signed the document declared to and before the notary public that it was the person who signed the document.

Acquittal

In criminal law, a finding of not guilty.

Active Voice

Refers to the use of active voice and normal sentence structure.

Ademption

When a testator gives specific property in a will but no longer owns the property at the time of death.

Adjective(s)

Word which modifies, describes or limits nouns, pronouns, and gerunds.

Adjudicate (not defined in this chapter)

To settle controversies and disputes between parties.

Administration

The supervision of an estate by an administrator or executor; the court probate process when a person dies without a will.

Administrative agencies

Agencies created by the legislative branch of government to administer laws pertaining to specific areas, such as the environment, taxes, transportation, and labor.

Administer

A person appointed by a court to administer an intestate estate.

Advance Sheet

Paperback pamphlets published weekly which contain reporter cases, including correct volume and page number.

Adverb

Word used to describe or limit a verb, adjective, or another adverb.

Adversary proceeding

Individual lawsuits brought within a bankruptcy case.

Adverse possession

A method of acquiring title to real property under certain conditions by possession for a statutory period.

Affiant

The person who is making an affidavit.

Affidavit

A written statement sworn to as being true before a notary public.

Affirmation

A solemn or official declaration that the statements the person has just made or is about to make are true but does not include an appeal to God or any supreme being.

Affirmative defenses

A defense to the plaintiff's complaint raised in the defendant's answer.

Allegations

Numbered paragraphs setting forth the background and reasons for filing a suit.

Alphabetic Filing

A system of filing in which files are labeled and stored in alphabetical order, generally by the name of the client.

Alphanumeric filing

A combination of an alphabetic filing system and a numeric system in which numbers are assigned to files in blocks according to the letter of the alphabet which identifies the client.

ALP

The basic certification designed for the individual at the apprentice level of the legal support staff. See Accredited Legal Professional.

Amendment [to a pleading]

An amended pleading is one that is corrected in regard to facts that existed at the time the original pleading was filed. Contrast to supplemental pleading.

Animal Cases

Tort litigation involving injuries or damages caused by animals, including livestock, domesticated wild animals, household pets, or farm animals; these cases fall under strict liability tort law.

Annulment

A proceeding that establishes that a marriage never existed.

Answer

A formal, written statement by the defendant in a lawsuit that answers each allegation contained in the complaint. In family law, in a divorce action, the defendant's first pleading is called an answer; in a no-fault action, it may be called a response.

Apostrophe

A punctuation mark used to form contractions of words and figures, in place of omitted letters or figure, to form possessives, to form plurals of lower case letters and upper case letters when the lack of an apostrophe may create confusion, to set off quoted material within a larger quotation, in names with the prefix "O."

Appeal

A proceeding brought to a higher court to review a lower court's decision.

Appellant

The party who takes an appeal from one court or jurisdiction to another.

Appellate jurisdiction

Authority of a court to review cases tried in lower courts.

Appellee

The party in a cause against whom an appeal is taken.

Append

Allows the operator to gather or collect, in order, each item deleted and then insert them as a group in another location or document.

Application

Term used to refer to the specific tasks a computer can do.

Arraignment

The hearing at which the accused is brought before the court to plead to the criminal charge in the indictment.

Arrest

The actual restraint of a person for submission to custody.

Assault

An act that creates in a person immediate fear of an attempted battery.

Assign (assignment)

Assignment is a substitution of one party for another in a contractual relationship. If the assignee fails to perform under the terms, the contract responsibility falls back on the assignor.

Assignee

A person to whom an assignment is made.

Assignor

A person who assigns a right, whether or not he or she is the original owner thereof.

Assumption of risk

The legal rule under which a person may not recover for an injury received when voluntarily exposed to a known danger.

At issue (joined)

The term used to describe the status of litigation when the complaint and a responsive pleading have been filed.

Attestation clause

The clause of a will immediately following the signature of a testator.

Attorney Client Privilege

The privilege that protects confidential communications, oral or written, between the attorney and a client in the course of the professional relationship that cannot be disclosed without the consent of the client.

Bailiff

The peace officer of the court (or court officer) responsible for keeping order and maintaining appropriate courtroom decorum.

Balance

The difference between the total debits and total credits posted to an account.