Our Probate Jargon dictionary

This is the name of the person who looks after the estate of someone who had died WITHOUT A WILL. They have the same powers as an Executor. The person who applies to be the Administrator is usually the person that is due to benefit from the estate under the rules of intestacy.

This is someone who inherits from a death estate. If the deceased person made a Will then the beneficiary/s will be named in the Will, if the person died without making a Will then the Rules of Intestacy (explained further down) will determine who benefits from the death estate.

This is the term used for 'everything the deceased person owned' eg. Property, money, investments, shares and all other personal possessions such as jewellery, any vehicles they own. If they have died leaving their pet alive then the pet also forms part of the death estate.

An Executor is the person/s named in the deceased's Will to deal with Estate Administration of the death Estate.

Where someone has died WITHOUT a Will the main beneficiary of the death estate (by virtue of the Rules of Intestacy), so usually the next of kin, becomes the Administrator of the Estate. To become Administrator they have to apply to the Probate Registry for a Grant of Letters of Administration (this basically gives them the same powers as an Executor with a Grant of Probate)

Where someone has dies WITH a Will the Executor/s, who will be named in the Will, have to apply to the Probate Registry for a Grant of Probate. This Grant gives the Executor/s the power to wind up the death estate and carry out the deceaseds wishes in the Will.

When somebody dies WITHOUT a Will they are said to have 'died intestate' and the Rules of Intestacy dictate who inherits from the death estate.

This is the legal process you have to go through to get authority to deal with a death estate. If there's a Will the Executor applies for Probate and if there isn't a Will then the Administrator will apply for Probate. If this legal process is not undertaken then nobody will have authority to wind up the death estate. There are circumstances where Probate isn't required and this depends on the value of the estate and whether or not it includes property that the deceased owned.

This is the place that issues the legal authority to deal with a death estate.

This is the place that issues the legal authority to deal with a death estate.

These are a set of rules/laws that come into play when someone dies WITHOUT a Will. These rules/laws dictate who inherits from the death estate. They effectively put surviving relatives into an 'order of inheritance'.