Estate Planning Definitions | The Ellis Law Firm

Assets- Assets are any property owned that has monetary value, such as cash or bank accounts, vehicles, household furnishings, and real property.

Estate Plan- The plan in place to disperse and designate assets after your death. An Estate Plan may include a Will, a Trust, and Powers of Attorney.

Intestate- When someone dies without a Will, it is referred to as dying "intestate". They have not declared where their "estate" (property) will go.

Intestate succession- How the courts determine to which relatives the property is distributed to when someone dies without a will.

Liabilities- Liabilities are the debts a person has. Debts must be taken care of after your death.

Separate Property- Separate property is property owned before marriage; property owned after a final divorce decree; or property acquired by gift or inheritance. It must be distinguished from community property, which is any property acquired during marriage other than by gift or inheritance.

Power of Attorney- A power of attorney allows someone to act on your behalf or in place of yourself. A Medical Power of Attorney is drafted to specifically address Medical issues, while a Durable Power of Attorney addresses financial and/ or property issues.

Trust- A Trust can be set up in many ways to accomplish various goals. One way they are used is to have a third party (a Trustee) manage assets for one or more beneficiaries.

Trustee- The person or entity in charge of the assets in a Trust. While you are alive, you may act as Trustee. For married couples, either one or both spouses may act as Trustee or co-Trustees. The successor Trustee is an individual or corporation fiduciary whom you designate to be in charge of your Trust in the event of disability or upon death.

Will- A legally enforceable declaration of how a person wishes his or her property to be distributed after death. In a Will, a person can also recommend a guardian for his or her children.