Glossary
Legal words, defined in plain English.
49 terms you will meet in a will, a power of attorney, a trust or a probate matter. Each definition is written and reviewed by Aaron Johnson, Consultant Solicitor and TEP.
Terms beginning with A
- AdministratorProbate
The person who deals with an estate when there is no will, or when the executors named in the will cannot or will not act. Administrators are appointed by letters of administration and have the same duties as executors.
- AttorneyPowers of attorney
A person appointed under a Lasting Power of Attorney to make decisions for the donor. Attorneys must follow the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and act in the donor’s best interests. In this context "attorney" has nothing to do with the American word for a lawyer.
Terms beginning with B
- Bare TrustTrusts
The simplest form of trust. The beneficiary has an absolute right to both the income and the capital. Often used to hold assets for a child until they reach 18. Income and gains are taxed as if the beneficiary owned the assets directly.
- BeneficiaryWills
A person or organisation that receives something under a will or trust. Beneficiaries can be named individually ("my daughter Jane") or as a class ("my grandchildren"). They can receive specific items, fixed sums, or a share of the residue.
Terms beginning with C
- CaveatProbate
A formal notice lodged at the Probate Registry that stops a grant being issued until the person who lodged it has been told. Caveats are used when there is a dispute about a will, a suspicion of fraud, or a challenge to who should be the executor.
- Certificate ProviderPowers of attorney
The person who signs a Lasting Power of Attorney to confirm that the donor understands it, is making it freely, and is not being pressured. They must be either someone who has known the donor well for at least two years, or a professional such as a solicitor or doctor. An attorney, a relative of the donor or of an attorney, or anyone paid to care for the donor cannot act.
- CodicilWills
A short legal document that adds to or changes an existing will without rewriting it. It must be signed and witnessed in the same way as the will. Most solicitors now prefer to draft a new will rather than add a codicil.
- Court of ProtectionPowers of attorney
The court that makes decisions for people who lack mental capacity and have no LPA. It can appoint a deputy to manage someone’s affairs, but the application usually takes months and costs a good deal more than making an LPA in advance.
Terms beginning with D
- Deed of VariationProbate
A document by which a beneficiary redirects some or all of an inheritance to someone else after a death, as if the will or the intestacy rules had said so. Signed within two years of the death and containing the right statements, it is read back for inheritance tax and capital gains tax, so the gift is treated as made by the person who died, not by the beneficiary.
- DeputyPowers of attorney
A person appointed by the Court of Protection to manage the affairs of someone who has lost mental capacity and has no LPA. Deputies report to the Office of the Public Guardian every year and pay supervision fees, which is far more onerous than being an attorney.
- Discretionary TrustTrusts
A trust in which the trustees decide how income and capital are shared among a group of possible beneficiaries. The flexibility lets trustees respond as family circumstances change. Often used in inheritance tax planning and to protect a vulnerable beneficiary.
- DonorPowers of attorney
The person who makes a Lasting Power of Attorney and gives their attorneys authority to act. The donor must have mental capacity when they sign. Once capacity is lost, an LPA can no longer be made and the family must apply to the Court of Protection instead.
Terms beginning with E
- EstateProbate
Everything a person owns when they die: property, savings, investments, possessions, business interests and money owed to them, less their debts. The value of the estate decides whether inheritance tax is payable and which probate procedure applies.
- Excepted EstateProbate
An estate that does not have to send HMRC a full inheritance tax account (form IHT400) before the grant is applied for. Broadly, one that owes no inheritance tax and falls within HMRC’s value and gifting limits, or one that is exempt because everything passes to a spouse, civil partner or charity. The executor confirms the figures in the probate application instead.
Whether an estate is excepted is what decides which grant-only tier a probate matter falls into.
- ExecutorWills
The person you appoint in your will to deal with your estate after you die. Executors collect in your assets, pay your debts and taxes, and distribute what is left as the will directs. You can appoint up to four, and they can be family, friends or professionals.
Terms beginning with G
- Gift with Reservation of BenefitInheritance tax
A gift you make but go on benefiting from, most often a home you give to your children and carry on living in without paying a full market rent. For inheritance tax the gift is ignored: the asset is treated as still yours when you die, however long ago you gave it away. The seven-year clock never starts, and the children may face capital gains tax on top.
The rule that defeats most attempts to put the house in the children’s names.
- Grant of ProbateProbate
The court document, issued by the Probate Registry, that confirms an executor’s authority to deal with an estate under a valid will. Banks, the Land Registry and other institutions usually ask for it before releasing assets. GOV.UK says it usually arrives within 12 weeks of the application.
Terms beginning with H
- Health & Welfare LPAPowers of attorney
The other type of Lasting Power of Attorney. It lets your attorneys decide about your medical treatment, where you live and your day-to-day care if you lose mental capacity. It cannot be used while you still have capacity.
Terms beginning with I
- Inheritance Tax (IHT)Inheritance tax
A tax on the value of a person’s estate when they die, charged at 40 percent on the amount above the available allowances: the £325,000 nil-rate band and, where the home passes to children or grandchildren, the £175,000 residence nil-rate band. Anything left to a spouse or civil partner is exempt.
- IntestateWills
Dying without a valid will. The estate then passes under the intestacy rules, not according to the person’s wishes. Only a spouse or civil partner and relatives by blood or adoption can inherit under those rules. An unmarried partner, step-children and friends get nothing.
Terms beginning with J
- Joint TenantsWills
One of the two ways co-owners can hold a property in England and Wales. Joint tenants own the whole property together, with no separate shares. When one dies, the property passes automatically to the survivor, whatever the will says. Most couples buy this way without being asked.
Why a will cannot leave your half of a jointly owned home to anyone but the co-owner, unless the ownership is changed first.
Terms beginning with L
- Lasting Power of AttorneyPowers of attorney
A legal document in which you (the donor) appoint one or more people (attorneys) to make decisions for you if you lose mental capacity. There are two types: property and financial affairs, and health and welfare. Each must be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian before it can be used.
- Legal OmbudsmanGeneral
The independent body that resolves complaints about the service given by solicitors and other lawyers in England and Wales. It is free to use. You go to it after the firm has had the chance to deal with the complaint, within six months of the firm’s final response and within a year of the problem. It looks at poor service; concerns about a solicitor’s conduct go to the SRA instead.
Step 3 of the complaints procedure on this site.
- Letters of AdministrationProbate
The equivalent of a grant of probate when there is no valid will. It appoints an administrator, usually the closest relative, and gives them authority to deal with the estate under the intestacy rules. The application is much the same as for probate.
- Life InterestTrusts
The right to the income from, or the use of, an asset for life, without owning the capital. In a will, a life interest trust lets a surviving spouse live in the home or draw the income from savings for the rest of their life, after which the capital passes to the children or others the will names. The person with the life interest is called the life tenant.
Terms beginning with M
- Mental Capacity Act 2005Powers of attorney
The law in England and Wales on decisions for people who may lack the ability to make them. Its five principles: assume a person has capacity; help them decide for themselves; an unwise decision is not proof of incapacity; act in their best interests; choose the least restrictive option.
- Mirror WillsWills
Two near-identical wills made by a couple, usually leaving everything to each other on the first death and then to chosen beneficiaries on the second. Each will is a separate document, so either of you can change yours at any time, including after the other has died.
- Mutual WillsWills
Wills made by a couple with a binding agreement not to change them after the first death. Unlike mirror wills, a mutual will cannot be changed by the survivor alone. They are rare in modern practice because they take away the survivor’s flexibility.
Terms beginning with N
- Nil-Rate Band (NRB)Inheritance tax
The amount of an estate on which no inheritance tax is paid: £325,000 per person, fixed until April 2031. Any part a person does not use can pass to their surviving spouse or civil partner, so a couple can have up to £650,000 on the second death.
Terms beginning with O
- Office of the Public GuardianPowers of attorney
The government body for England and Wales that protects people who lack mental capacity. It registers Lasting Powers of Attorney and supervises deputies appointed by the Court of Protection. An LPA cannot be used until the OPG has registered it, and the OPG charges a fee for each LPA (£92 as at September 2026).
Terms beginning with P
- Personal RepresentativeProbate
The general term for whoever deals with a person’s estate after death. An executor is a personal representative appointed by the will; an administrator is one appointed by letters of administration when there is no will or no executor able to act. The duties are the same either way: collect in the assets, pay the debts and tax, and distribute what is left.
- Potentially Exempt Transfer (PET)Inheritance tax
A gift made in your lifetime that is free of inheritance tax if you live seven years after making it. If you die within seven years the gift is counted back into your estate, and the tax on it may be reduced by taper relief, depending on how long you survived.
- ProbateProbate
The legal process of dealing with a person’s estate after they die. Strictly, "probate" is the grant of probate: the court document that confirms the will is valid and gives the executors authority to act. It is usually needed when the estate includes a property or larger bank balances or investments.
- Probate RegistryProbate
The part of HM Courts and Tribunals Service that issues grants of probate and letters of administration in England and Wales. Applications are made online or by post and are handled centrally; the district registries no longer deal with the public directly. It also holds the record of every grant issued, which anyone can search.
- Property & Financial Affairs LPAPowers of attorney
One of the two types of Lasting Power of Attorney. It lets your attorneys manage your bank accounts, property, pensions and bills. Depending on how you set it up, it can be used as soon as it is registered, with your permission, or only if you lose capacity.
- Property Protection TrustTrusts
A trust written into a couple’s wills. On the first death, that person’s share of the home goes into the trust rather than outright to the survivor. The survivor lives there for life, and the share is held for the children whatever happens later, including if the survivor needs care. It does not protect the survivor’s own share from the survivor’s own care fees.
Terms beginning with R
- Replacement AttorneyPowers of attorney
Someone named in a Lasting Power of Attorney to step in if an original attorney dies, loses capacity, is removed, or decides not to act. Without one, the LPA can fail altogether when the only attorney can no longer act, and the family is back to the Court of Protection. Naming a replacement costs nothing extra and is nearly always worth doing.
- Residence Nil-Rate Band (RNRB)Inheritance tax
An extra inheritance tax allowance of £175,000 per person when you leave your home to children, grandchildren or other direct descendants. It tapers away for estates over £2 million. With the nil-rate band, a married couple can pass on up to £1 million free of inheritance tax.
- ResidueWills
What is left of your estate after specific gifts, debts, taxes and expenses have been paid. Most wills leave the residue to a spouse, children or other chosen beneficiaries. A residue clause that is missing or unclear is a common error in home-made wills.
Terms beginning with S
- Safe harbourThe name
In law a safe harbour is a rule that says: meet these conditions and you will be treated as having done the right thing. In a harbour it is where a boat can lie without watching the weather. Here it is a promise about how the work is done: the fee is fixed and agreed in writing before any work starts, one named solicitor does the whole job, and he comes to you. It is not a promise about the outcome of any matter.
Why the practice is called what it is.
- SettlorTrusts
The person who creates a trust by putting assets into it. The settlor chooses the trustees and the beneficiaries and sets out the trustees’ powers. Once the trust exists, the settlor usually no longer owns the assets.
- SRAGeneral
The Solicitors Regulation Authority, the regulator for solicitors in England and Wales. Every practising solicitor must be authorised by the SRA and appears on its public register with an SRA number. You can check any solicitor at sra.org.uk.
- Statutory LegacyProbate
The fixed sum a surviving spouse or civil partner takes first when someone dies without a will leaving children. It is £322,000 for deaths on or after 26 July 2023, plus the personal possessions and half of whatever is left; the children share the other half. If there are no children, the spouse or civil partner takes everything.
- STEPGeneral
The Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners, the professional body for specialists in inheritance and succession. A solicitor who has completed the STEP qualifications can use the letters TEP (Trust and Estate Practitioner) after their name. Aaron Johnson is a TEP.
Terms beginning with T
- Tenants in CommonWills
The other way co-owners can hold a property. Each owns a distinct share, equal or unequal, which passes under that person’s will or the intestacy rules rather than automatically to the co-owner. Joint tenants can become tenants in common by serving a simple notice of severance. It is the usual first step when a couple’s wills put a share of the home into trust.
- TestatorWills
The person making the will. Legal documents use the word to mean the will-maker. Older drafting calls a woman a testatrix; modern practice uses testator for everyone.
- TrustTrusts
A legal arrangement in which one person (the settlor) hands assets to others (the trustees) to hold for the benefit of someone else (the beneficiaries). Trusts are used to protect assets, plan for inheritance tax, provide for vulnerable family members and ring-fence a share of the home.
- TrusteeTrusts
A person or organisation that holds and manages the assets in a trust for the beneficiaries. Trustees have legal duties of care and must act even-handedly. They can be family members, professionals or a trust company; most trusts have two to four.
Terms beginning with W
- WillWills
A legal document that says who gets your money, property and possessions when you die. It also appoints executors to deal with your estate and, where relevant, guardians for children under 18. To be valid it must be signed by you in front of two adult witnesses, who also sign.
Not here
The word is one thing. What it means for you is another.
A definition tells you what a term means. It cannot tell you whether it applies to your estate. A 15-minute call with Aaron costs nothing and commits you to nothing, and he will say plainly whether a trust, a power of attorney or a particular clause earns its place in your case.
Or call 01262 310 850. Monday to Friday, 9am to 5.30pm. The questions and answers page covers the practical questions; the guides go deeper.