Common Terms Used in Probate

Administration of an Estate: The management and distribution of a decedent’s property, which includes the collection of assets, payment of expenses, debts, and taxes, and distribution to the heirs or legatees.

Decedent: A deceased person; a person who has passed away.

Descendant: A person who is directly related to an ancestor by bloodline, including children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and subsequent generations.

Estate: The total property, assets, and debts left behind by a decedent, subject to administration and distribution

Family Allowance: An allowance in addition to property passing under the will or by the laws of intestacy. The surviving spouse, registered domestic partner, and each unmarried minor child of the decedent, who was not eighteen years old at the time of death of the decedent, are entitled to receive a family allowance.

Interested Person: The person(s) named to receive through a will, heirs at law, person(s) serving as personal representative(s), trustee(s) of a trust, and court-appointed guardian(s) for minors.

Letter of Administration: A document issued by the Register of Wills that authorizes a personal representative to administer an estate.

Non-Probate Estate: Property that passes outside the probate estate, including jointly held assets, life estate or remainder interests in a trust or deed, trust in which the decedent had an interest, payable on death (P.O.D.) assets, and pension and benefit plans, including IRAs with named beneficiaries.

Probate Estate: The portion of a decedent’s assets that is subject to probate, including property owned solely by the decedent or held as a tenant in common.