glossary
This glossary provides a basic overview of some common legal terms to help you better understand situations you may encounter.
Bond
A document ordered by the court that allows a person to qualify as a fiduciary or to sell real estate. Two bonds that might be ordered are personal bonds or corporate bonds.
Codicil
An addition to a Will.
Deed
The document that transfers ownership from the seller to the buyer. Only the seller signs the deed. Other forms of deeds are deed of personal representative, deed of gift, deed of trust, quit claim deed, warranty deed.
Devise
To give or bestow personal and/or real property through a will.
Devisee
A person or entity who is entitled to receive personal and/or real property that was devised in a will.
Easement
A right of way giving persons other than the owner access to or over a property.
Estates
When someone dies owning assets in their sole name, a decedent estate may need to be opened to transfer those assets to the persons entitled to it.
Exempt Property
The household furniture, automobiles, furnishings, appliances, and personal effects of a decedent that a spouse is entitled to according to certain dollar limits.
Fee Simple
Fee simple ownership provides the owner with unrestricted powers to dispose of the owned property as the owner sees fit. Of all types of ownership, fee simple provides the greatest amount of personal control and protection.
Fiduciary
A person who undertakes the legal duty to act for the benefit of another. Fiduciaries include, but are not limited to, personal representatives, guardians, conservators, or trustees.
Guardian
A person who is appointed by the court to be responsible for their ward’s care, custody, and control, including the ability to make decisions regarding medical care and living arrangements.
Guardian Ad Litem
Someone who is appointed by the court during litigation to promote and protect the interests of a person affected by the litigation. If it deems necessary, the court may appoint a guardian ad litem to appear and represent the interests of any person in any proceeding.
Heir or Heir-At-Law
A person who is entitled to a decedent’s property according to the laws of intestate succession.
Inventory
A document that must be completed by the fiduciary and served on interested persons. It lists the property of an estate or protected individual that is under the management of the fiduciary.
Interested Person
Any person interested in a probate matter as determined by court rule or statute. Interested persons include heirs, devisees, creditors, and beneficiaries, depending on the type of matter.
Intestate succession or Intestacy
The law that governs the passing of a decedent’s property to the decedent’s heirs. The law that identifies which relatives are a decedent’s heirs.
Joint Tenancy
A form of co-ownership that gives each tenant equal interest and equal rights in the property, including the right of survivorship.
Joint Tenancy with Full Right of Survivorship
A form of co-ownership that allows the surviving owner to take the percentage previously owned by a deceased co-owner.
Legally Incapacitated Individual
An adult individual who has been determined by the court to lack the capacity for self-care and for whom a guardian has been appointed.
Letters of Authority
A document issued by the court that evidences the fiduciary’s powers. Letters of Authority are issued in decedents estates and in conservatorship files. It is necessary to present this document when conducting estate business.
Patient Advocate Designation
A document that designates a person to make medical treatment decisions when the patient is unable to act on his/her own behalf. A Michigan statutory version of what is sometimes referred to as a “living will.” It is sometimes referred to as a “Medical Durable Power of Attorney.”
Personal Representative
An individual who is appointed by a probate court to administer a decedent’s estate. Formerly referred to as an “executor.”
Power of Attorney
A written and notarized document giving an individual legal power to act on behalf of another according to the terms of the document. The person who acts on behalf of the person who signs the power of attorney is called an “Attorney-in-fact.” A power of attorney that makes provisions stating that it is effective even upon the disability of the maker, is known as a Durable Power of Attorney.
Prime Directive
States what a person does and does not want in the case of terminal illness. Prime Directives are often coupled with DNRs or Do Not Resuscitate instructions in the event a person’s heart stops.
Quiet Title
A legal action filed in circuit court to establish clear legal title to real estate. The action must be brought in the county where the property is located.
Renunciation
To voluntarily relinquish certain rights and/or duties imposed by law. Most often this refers to a voluntary refusal to serve as personal representative for purposes of administering a decedent’s estate.
Short Sale
A property sale negotiated with a mortgage company in which a lender takes less than the total amount due.
Tenancy by the Entirety
A type of joint tenancy of property that provides right of survivorship and is available only to a husband and wife. Contrast with tenancy in common.
Tenants In Common
A form of ownership where each tenant holds an undivided interest in property. The interest of tenants in common does not terminate upon their death. The interest passes to their estate or heirs.
Trust
A way to hold property in which legal and equitable title are separated. The legal title to trust property is held in the trust name solely for the benefit of another. A trust is created by a “settlor” through a written document transferring legal title to the assets from the settlor’s name into the trust name. The trust document allows a “trustee” to manage and distribute trust assets solely for the benefit of the “trust beneficiary.”
Will (Last Will and Testament)
A written expression of how an individual wants their property distributed after death.