Estate Planning Terms and Definitions

Federal Estate Taxes
Taxes imposed by the US Government on the value of a person's estate upon his or her death.

Will
A written document that provides instructions for disposing of a person's property upon the person's death. A will generally also names an executor or personal representative to handle the estate.

Fiduciary
A person in whom one places great confidence in and upon whom one relies for his or her integrity, trust, and good faith. A fiduciary has the legal duty to act in the best interest and benefit of another and therefore is held to the very highest legal standards. A trustee is a fiduciary.

Devise
A gift made by a will or a trust. A devise is made to a beneficiary under the terms of the will or trust.

Transfer Tax
The combined Federal Estate and Gift tax. A single exemption credit applies whether the property was transferred during a person's lifetime (gift tax) or is held by a person at the time of his/her death (estate tax).

Trust
A long recognized legal concept (first used in ancient Greece during the times of Socrates and Plato) in which some or all property of a Trust Creator is held on behalf of a beneficiary (which may include the trust creator) in the name of the Trustee.

Exemption Credit
The amount of tax credit, similar in nature to the personal income tax exemption, applied to the transfer tax due at a person's death.

Gross Estate
The value of an estate before the debts are paid. In California Probate statutory attorneys and personal representatives fees are usually calculated based on the gross value of the estate, so that the value of the home is calculated before deducting the amount due on the mortgage.

Gain
The difference between the Tax Basis (the amount originally paid for property with certain adjustments) and the amount received for the property when it was sold.

Tenancy-in-Common
A form of ownership of property in which two or more persons share ownership (may be equal or unequal shares). At the death of a tenant-in-common, his/her share in the property transfers to his/her heirs, rather than to the other surviving owner(s). Compare with Joint Tenancy.