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Summit Estate Planning & Probate Lawyers / Blog / Estate Planning / Important Estate Planning Terms to Know

Important Estate Planning Terms to Know

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Estate planning is an important process for all adults in New Jersey to consider, irrespective of health, age, or income level. While an estate planning attorney will help you to identify all of the estate planning documents or tools that are relevant to your situation, it is a good idea to familiarize yourself with some of the terminology in advance. The following are some of the key New Jersey estate planning terms you should know.

Beneficiary 

A person with a future interest in property, including in a trust or associated with an insurance policy.

Decedent 

A decedent is a legal term for a person who has died.

Estate 

New Jersey law defines an estate, including the use of the term in estate planning, to mean “all of the property of a decedent, minor, or incapacitated individuals…”

Guardian 

A guardian is a person “who has qualified as a guardian of the person or estate of a minor or incapacitated individual” according to New Jersey law. In other words, a guardian can make decisions for a person who is a minor or has become incapacitated, and depending on the type of guardian and guardianship, the person can make financial decisions and/or decisions about the person’s general well-being.

Heir 

New Jersey law specifically defines an heir as a person who is entitled to receive property of a decedent under New Jersey’s intestate succession laws, including a surviving spouse, domestic partner, and descendants of the deceased. Sometimes the term “heir” is used more colloquially, to mean someone who is set to inherit or inherits assets through a will, but New Jersey law is more specific.

Incapacitated Individual 

An incapacitated individual, under New Jersey law, is “an individual who is impaired by reason of mental illness or intellectual disability to the extent that the individual lacks sufficient capacity to govern himself and manage the individual’s affairs.” Whether a person is incapacitated can determine whether the court will appoint a guardian or guardians, and whether certain estate planning documents will spring into effect.

Intestate Succession 

The laws of intestate succession govern the distribution of a person’s property when that person dies “intestate,” meaning without a will.

Personal Representative 

The term personal representative means a person who handles the affairs of a decedent, and the term includes an executor of a will under New Jersey law.

Testator 

The term “testator” is used to refer to a person who makes a will.

Trust 

A trust is a legal tool through which a party’s assets can be held and distributed to beneficiaries. A trustor is a person who makes a trust, and a trustee is a person or entity that has a fiduciary responsibility to manage the assets in the trust. In New Jersey, the person who makes a trust may also be able to name themselves as the trustee.

Will

 A will, or last will and testament, is a document through which a person makes important decisions about how their assets will be distributed upon their death, can name a guardian for minor children, and names an executor to handle their estate.

Contact a Summit Estate Planning Lawyer 

If you have any questions about estate planning in Summit or elsewhere in New Jersey, or if you are ready to get started, an attorney is here to help. One of the experienced New Jersey estate planning lawyers at Dempsey, Dempsey & Sheehan can begin working with you today to create important estate planning documents and tools, or to update any existing estate plan. Contact us for assistance.

Sources:

law.justia.com/codes/new-jersey/title-3b/section-3b-1-1/

law.justia.com/codes/new-jersey/title-3b/section-3b-1-2/

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