"A" Trust (See Marital deduction)

Administrator The person appointed by the court to manage one's estate when he or she dies without leaving a will. Administrators have the same duties as executors

Annuity A sum of money payable yearly or at other regular intervals

Appreciated Property Property, such as real estate or stock, which has increased in value.

Basis (See Income tax basis.)

Beneficiary An individual designated to receive benefits or funds under a will or other contract, such as an insurance policy, trust or retirement plan

Bequest To give or leave something by will, typically personal property or assets

B Trust (See Death tax savings trust.)

Charitable Gift Annuity Typically an agreement in which you transfer cash or other assets to a charitable organization in exchange for its promise to pay you an annuity for life or for a term of years.

Charitable remainder trust A special type of irrevocable trust that may allow you to receive income tax deductions now, get tax-free income from the trust and have a charity receive the balance on your death without being subject to death tax.

Corporate Fiduciary An institution that acts for the benefit of another. One example is a bank acting as trustee.

Cost Basis The original value of an asset, such as stock, before its appreciation or depreciation.

Codicil An amendment to a will.

Community property A way for married couples to own assets in certain states that may produce income tax and death tax benefits. Those states with community property laws are Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin.

Conservator A person appointed by a court to manage your financial and/or personal affairs if you are incapacitated.

Credit shelter trust (See Death tax saving trust.)

Death tax A catch-all term for a variety of federal and state taxes that may be due after a death.

Death tax saving trust A special kind of trust used by the first spouse to die to potentially double the current federal Estate and Gift Tax exemption from death tax.

Directive to Physician (Also called a Living will or Natural Death Declaration.) A "pull-the-plug" document directing that the maker's or signer's life is not to be artificially supported in the event of a terminal illness or accident

Disclaimer Trust (See Marital Deduction)

Discretionary trust A trust in which the trustee has discretion to spend or not spend money of the trust for the beneficiary according to the standards you've set up in the trust document.

Domicile The state where you have your permanent home to which you always intend to return.

Durable Power of Attorney A written legal document that lets an individual designate another person to act on his or her behalf, even in the event the individual becomes disabled or incapacitated.

Estate Tax A tax imposed at one's death on the transfer of most types of property.

Executor (or Personal Representative) The person named in a will to manage the estate. This person will collect the property, pay any debt and distribute your property or assets according to the will.

Exemption trust (See Death tax saving trust.)

Family POT trust A type of trust that holds the shares of two or more children in one trust and allows them to benefit as needed (and often unequally) from the assets in the trust.

Fiduciary A person or institution legally responsible for the management, investment and distributions of funds. Examples include trustees, executors and administrators.

Generation-skipping transfer tax A special kind of death tax on assets passing to grandchildren or other beneficiaries much younger than you.

Gift tax A catch-all term for a variety of federal and state taxes that may be due whenever you make a gift during your lifetime. Generally, the gift tax is paid by the person making the gift, rather than the recipient.

Gift-Tax Annual Exclusion The provision in the tax law that exempts the first $11,000 (as adjusted for inflation) in present-interest gifts a person gives to each recipient during a year from federal gift taxes.

Grantor The person who transfers assets into a trust for the benefit of another.

Gross Estate The total property or assets held by an individual as defined for federal estate tax purposes.

Guardian A person appointed by the court to manage the rights and/or property of a person incapable of taking care of his or her own affairs.

Guardian of the Estate A person appointed by a court to manage assets left directly to your children and not in a trust for them.

Guardian of the person A person appointed by a court to care for you should you become physically or mentally unable to care for yourself or raise your child(ren) should they be minors upon your death.

Holographic Will A handwritten will.

Income tax basis The starting point for calculating income tax gain or loss.

Inter vivos trust A type of trust created during one's lifetime to hold property for the benefit of another person.

Interest Any right or ownership in property.

Intestate or Intestacy The terms applied when an individual dies without a will.

IRA A type of personal retirement plan known as an "individual retirement account."

Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust A trust that cannot be changed that is used to own life insurance in a way to reduce death taxes.

Irrevocable Trust An inflexible, fixed trust-you cannot cancel or change the trust once it's been signed. This type of trust is usually used to make family gifts to reduce death taxes.

Joint Ownership The ownership of property by two or more people, usually with the right of survivorship.

Joint Tenancy A common way of holding title (ownership) to assets. Joint tenancy assets pass automatically to the surviving joint tenants (co-owners).

Life Insurance Trust An irrevocable trust that has the proceeds of an individual's life insurance policy as its principal which are not included in your estate for death tax purposes.

Living Trust (also known as a "revocable trust") A trust that permits you to keep control over your assets while you are alive but helps you avoid probate when you die if certain steps are taken while you are alive.

Living Will (Also called a Directive to Physician or Natural Death Declaration.) A "pull-the-plug" document directing that the maker's or signer's life is not to be artificially supported in the event of a terminal illness or accident

Marital Deduction A deduction allowing for the unlimited transfer of any or all property from one spouse to the other generally free of estate and gift tax. Very often, a QTIP trust or a special kind of trust called an "A trust" or "Disclaimer Trust" is used to take full advantage of this deduction.

NAMI (National Alliance for the Mentally Ill) A family-based organization whose purpose is to eradicate mental illness and improve the quality of life of persons suffering from certain diseases. NAMI is located at 2101 Wilson Blvd., #302, Arlington, Virginia 22201 (703/524 -7600).

Natural Death Declaration (Also called a Directive to Physician or Living Will.) A "pull-the-plug" document directing that the maker's or signer's life is not to be artificially supported in the event of a terminal illness or accident

Nomination of Conservator A document in which you specify the person(s) you want to act on your behalf if you become incapacitated.

Pour Over Will A special kind of will that is used with a living trust to direct the distribution of certain assets kept outside of the living trust.

Powers of Appointment A right given to another in a written instrument, such as a will or trust that allows the other to decide how to distribute the property. The power of appointment is "general" if it places no restrictions on whom the distributees may be. A power is "limited" or "special" if it limits the eventual distributee.

Power of Attorney for Finances A document that allows someone else to manage your finances - it's also often called a "license to steal" since it can be easily abused. If it's a durable power of attorney, it can still be valid after you become incapacitated.

Power of Attorney for Health Care A document by which you appoint an agent to make health care decisions for you. If it's a durable power of attorney, it can still be valid after you become incapacitated.

Probate To some people, it's really a four letter word. Probate is the legal procedure set up by your state to see that taxes, debts and expenses are paid and your remaining assets are distributed to the correct beneficiaries or heirs. This procedure is supervised by a court sometimes referred to as the "probate court." Most people associate higher attorney and executor fees, delays and hassle with probates. A living trust may avoid probate.

Probate Court The name of the court that oversees the administration of estates of deceased persons.

QDOT Trust A special kind of trust set up to benefit a surviving spouse who is not a U.S. citizen.

QTIP Trust A special kind of trust set up to benefit a surviving spouse by deferring the federal death tax, helping to reduce the generation-skipping transfer tax and maintaining control over the trust after the surviving spouse passes away.

Revocable Trust (See Living trust.)

Second-to-Die Policy A type of life insurance policy that pays the proceeds when both spouses are gone.

Special Needs Trust A special kind of trust designed to help protect the benefits being received by individuals who are on certain governmental aid programs.

Testamentary Trust A trust created under a will.

Testate A person who dies having a will.

Testator An individual who dies leaving a will or testament in force.

Trust A way of leaving assets under a will or living trust with instructions as to how the assets are to be managed and/or distributed to the named beneficiaries.

Trustee The person or entity you appoint in your testamentary trust or in your living trust to manage your assets. A "co-trustee" serves as trustee with another. A "contingent trustee" becomes trustee upon the occurrence of a specified future event such as the death or incapacity of an initial trustee.

Unified Estate and Gift Tax Credit A federal tax credit that offsets gift tax and estate tax liability. For gift tax purposes, the unified credit remains at $345,800 through 2009, which is equivalent to an applicable exclusion amount of $1 million. For estate tax purposes, the unified credit is being gradually increased from $345,800 in 2003 to $1,455,800 in 2009, which is equivalent to an applicable exclusion amount of $1 million in 2003 to $3.5 million in 2009

Will A document that say who gets your assets after you die.