Key Concepts in Trusts, Wills, and Estates Law

Trust

A fiduciary relationship where a trustee holds legal title to property for the benefit of a beneficiary.

Settlor

The person who creates the trust and transfers property into it.

Trustee

The person or entity that manages the trust property for the benefit of the beneficiaries.

Beneficiary

The person or entity entitled to benefit from the trust property.

Corpus (Principal)

The property held in the trust.

Income Beneficiary

A beneficiary entitled to the income generated by the trust property.

Remainder Beneficiary

A beneficiary entitled to the trust property after the income interest ends.

Revocable Trust

A trust that the settlor can amend or revoke during their lifetime.

Irrevocable Trust

A trust that cannot be amended or revoked once created.

Spendthrift Trust

A trust that restricts the beneficiary's ability to transfer or access trust funds, protecting them from creditors.

Discretionary Trust

A trust where the trustee has discretion over distributions to the beneficiary.

Charitable Trust

A trust created for a charitable purpose, benefiting the public or a segment of it.

Resulting Trust

An implied trust created by law when a trust fails or when property is transferred without an intended beneficiary.

Constructive Trust

An equitable remedy imposed to prevent unjust enrichment when someone wrongfully holds property.

Fiduciary Duty (Trustee)

Duties of loyalty, care, impartiality, and prudence owed by the trustee to the beneficiaries.

Rule Against Perpetuities

A rule limiting the duration of trusts to prevent indefinite control over property.

Termination of Trust

A trust may terminate by its terms, by consent of all beneficiaries and the settlor, or by court order.

Will

A legal document that directs the distribution of a person's property upon death.

Testator

The person who creates a will.

Intestate

Dying without a valid will, resulting in property distribution under state intestacy laws.

Executor

The person named in a will to administer the estate.

Devise

A gift of real property in a will.

Bequest

A gift of personal property in a will.

Residuary Clause

A provision in a will that disposes of any remaining property not specifically devised or bequeathed.

Holographic Will

A will written entirely in the testator's handwriting and signed, often without witnesses.

Codicil

A legal document that amends or supplements a will.

Revocation of Will

A will can be revoked by physical destruction, a subsequent will, or an express revocation.

Ademption

When a specific gift in a will is no longer in the estate at the time of death, the gift fails.

Lapse

When a beneficiary predeceases the testator, the gift may fail unless saved by an anti-lapse statute.

Anti-Lapse Statute

A law that allows a gift to pass to the predeceased beneficiary's descendants.

Abatement

The reduction of gifts in a will when the estate assets are insufficient to pay debts.

Elective Share

A surviving spouse's right to claim a statutory share of the estate.

In Terrorem Clause

A clause in a will that disinherits a beneficiary if they contest the will.

Probate

The legal process of administering a decedent's estate, including validating the will.

Intestate Succession

The statutory scheme for distributing property when someone dies without a will.

Per Stirpes

A method of distribution where descendants inherit by representation of their deceased ancestor's share.

Per Capita

A method of distribution where all descendants inherit equally, regardless of generational level.

Community Property

A marital property system where property acquired during marriage is owned equally by both spouses.

Separate Property

Property owned by one spouse before marriage or acquired by gift or inheritance during marriage.

Advancement

A lifetime gift intended to be an advance on the recipient's inheritance.

Simultaneous Death

If two people die simultaneously, property is distributed as if each predeceased the other.

Survivorship Requirement

Many states require a beneficiary to survive the decedent by a certain period to inherit.

Trustee's Fiduciary Duties

Duties of loyalty, care, impartiality, and prudence owed by the trustee to the beneficiaries.

Estate Tax

A tax on the transfer of property at death, imposed on the estate itself.

Gift Tax

A tax on lifetime transfers of property exceeding the annual exclusion amount.

Capacity to Create a Will

The testator must be at least 18 years old and of sound mind.

Undue Influence

A will is invalid if the testator was coerced or improperly influenced by another person.

Fraud

A will is invalid if procured by fraud, such as misrepresentation about the contents.

Revocation by Physical Act

Destroying or defacing a will with the intent to revoke it.

Pour-Over Will

A will that transfers remaining assets into a trust upon the testator's death.

Trust Modification

A trust can be modified by consent of the settlor and beneficiaries or by court order.

Charitable Trust Cy Pres Doctrine

Allows modification of a charitable trust's purpose if the original purpose becomes impracticable.

Spousal Rights

Elective share, community property, and homestead rights.

Pretermitted Heirs

Children unintentionally omitted from a will may inherit under state law.

Simultaneous Death Act

Determines inheritance when two people die at the same time with no clear evidence of who died first.