Estate planning can be a difficult task to complete. Especially if you're not sure how to begin. With help from an estate lawyer, however, you should be able to get started without issue. One of the best ways to get ready for estate planning is to take a look at a few key terms to know. This can help you better understand the overall subject, as well as help you communicate with your estate lawyer in Raleigh NC.
Terms to Know When Working With an Estate Lawyer in Raleigh NC
- Will - A document outlining how one’s estate will be distributed. It may also include to whom the individual’s assets will go. It might also name someone to oversee a representative to administer it.
- Unified Credit - Sometimes referred to as the estate tax exemption amount, it is a credit against the tax that is usually payable by the estate or individual.
- Trustee - The person designated to administer a trust who should act in the best interest of the trust and its beneficiaries.
- Trust - An arrangement that names an individual or corporate fiduciary as trustee for the owner of the property.
- Testamentary Trust - A trust established to become effective once a will has been through the probate process and assets were distributed.
- Terms of a Trust - The terms by which the trust was established that would be admissible in court.
- Tenancy in Common - Co-ownership where each party has rights to property that is not divided and can determine where the individual share will go upon the individual death. It is not automatically transferred to the other owner.
- Tenancy by the Entirety - A title for joint ownership between a couple that allows the property to be passed to the survivor when one of them dies.
- Tangible Personal Property - Property of value that can be touched and moved, such as jewelry, furniture and cars.
- Spendthrift Provision - A trust that restricts frequent transfers of a beneficiary’s interest in order to protect assets from claims by creditors.
- Special Needs Trust - A trust created for someone with a disability that allows the individual to still be eligible for government assistance while also receiving benefits from the estate.
- Settlor - Another term for a “trustor” or a “grantor.”
- Revocable trust - A trust that allows the grantor the ability to terminate, revoke, modify, or amend it.
- Qualified Terminable Interest Property - Property held in a marital trust that qualifies for the marital deduction. It names the surviving spouse as the sole beneficiary and entitles the individual to all income.
- Qualified Personal Residence Trust - A trust that allows the individual’s residence to be held for a certain time period so that the individual can continue to live there. At the end of the term, the property is passed to the children or to other beneficiaries.
- Qualified Domestic Trust - A marital trust created to allow special provisions for a non-U.S. citizen so that the individual will qualify for the marital deduction.
To learn more about key estate planning terms that can help you communicate with your estate lawyer in Raleigh NC, visit back soon. Our next blog will have more information for you. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us.
Eldreth Law Firm, PLLC | Estate Lawyer Raleigh NC
If you have questions, our office can help answer them. Eldreth Law Firm's estate lawyer in Raleigh NC can help you with all of your estate planning needs. Call now to learn more.
Also, feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns you may have about updating your will. Contact our estate lawyer to schedule a consultation if you have yet to start estate planning. It's never too early to make plans for your wishes upon death. In addition, our attorney is here to help you with all your legal matters, whether your situation deals with estate planning, trademarking, copyrighting, or entertainment law.
