A

Administrator: The person responsible for dealing with an estate where there is no valid Will or no executor able to act.

Assets: Everything a person owns that has financial value, including property, money, investments and personal possessions.

Attorney: A person legally appointed under a Lasting Power of Attorney to make decisions on behalf of another person.

Authority: The legal power to make decisions or act on behalf of another person.

B

Beneficiaries: The people or organisations who receive money, property or other assets from a Will, trust or estate.

Blended Families: Families formed when partners bring children from previous relationships into a new family unit.

C

Capital: Valuable assets such as money, property, investments or savings.

Cognitive Decline: A reduction in memory, thinking skills, reasoning or decision-making
ability, often associated with ageing or illness.

Common Law Married: A commonly used term describing unmarried couples who live
together, although it has no specific legal status in England and Wales.

Creditor: A person, business or organisation that is owed money.

D

Discretionary Trust: A trust where trustees decide when, how and to whom trust assets or income are distributed from a group of potential beneficiaries.

Disinheritance (Sideways Disinheritance): When assets intended for your children or family end up passing to someone else, often after remarriage or changes in family circumstances.

E

Estate: Everything a person owns, owes or has an interest in at the time of their death.

Estranged: Describes family members or other individuals who are no longer in contact or have a broken relationship.

Executor: The person appointed in a Will to administer the estate and carry out the wishes of the person who has died.

F

Financial Affairs: Matters relating to money, income, savings, investments, debts and property ownership.

Financial Institutions: Organisations such as banks, building societies, investment companies and pension providers that manage financial assets.

Financial Remedy Proceedings: The legal process used to decide how money, property and other assets are divided after a divorce or separation.

I

In Contemplation: Taking action or making plans while considering a future event that is expected or anticipated.

Inheritance: Money, property or other assets received from someone after their death.

Intestacy: The legal rules that determine who inherits when someone dies without a valid Will.

Intestate: A person who has died without leaving a valid Will.

M

Mental Capacity: A person’s ability to understand, retain and use information in order to make their own decisions.

O

Office of the Public Guardian (OPG): The government body responsible for registering Lasting Powers of Attorney and protecting people who may lack mental capacity.

P

Premature Inheritance: Money or assets given to beneficiaries during a person’s lifetime rather than after their death.

Property: Land, buildings, homes and other assets that a person owns.

S

Solicitor: A qualified legal professional who provides legal advice and services and is usually regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).

Spouse: A legally married husband, wife or civil partner.

T

Tenants in Common: A way of jointly owning property where each owner has a separate share that can be left to someone else in their Will.

Testator: A person who makes a Will.

Trust: A legal arrangement where assets are held by one or more people for the benefit of someone else.

Trustees: Individuals or organisations responsible for managing assets held within a trust for the benefit of others.

V

Void: A document or legal arrangement that has no legal effect and cannot be enforced.

W

Welfare: Decisions relating to a person’s health, care, living arrangements and day-to-day wellbeing.

Will: A legal document that sets out what should happen to a person’s estate after their death.