Key Terms
Navigating probate often means learning a whole new set of words and responsibilities. This guide breaks down common probate and estate-related terms in simple language so you can better understand what you’re hearing, reading, or being asked to do. If something still feels unclear, you don’t have to figure it out alone.
These definitions are for general understanding and are not legal advice.
Beneficiary
A person who inherits when there is a Will.
Decedent’s estate
All the property (real or personal) that a person owned at the time of death.
Heir
A person who inherits when there is no Will.
Personal Property
Things like cash, stocks, jewelry, clothing, furniture, or cars.
Real property
Buildings and land.
Will
A legal paper that lists a person’s wishes about what will happen to his/her property after death.
Clerk of Superior Court
The court official who oversees probate matters and approves many probate filings.
Notice to Creditors
A public notice that tells creditors the person has died and sets a deadline to submit claims against the estate.
Administration
The process of managing an estate—gathering assets, paying valid debts, and distributing what remains.
Custodian of the Will
The person who has the Will when the person who wrote the Will dies.
Devisees
People who are named in a Will.
Intestate
When someone dies without leaving a Will.
Personal representative (or administrator or executor)
The person responsible for overseeing the distribution of the estate.
Testate
When someone dies leaving a Will.
Letters of Administration
A court document that gives an administrator authority to act on behalf of the estate when there is no Will.
Letters Testamentary
A court document that gives the executor authority to act on behalf of the estate.
Creditor Claim
A request for payment from the estate for a debt the deceased person owed.
Accounting (Estate Accounting)
A record of money and property that came into the estate and how it was paid out or distributed.
Decedent (or deceased)
The person who died.
Executor
The person named in a will who is appointed to carry out the estate responsibilities.
Intestate succession
The order of who inherits the property when someone dies without a Will.
Probate
The court-supervised process for handling a person’s estate after death—identifying assets, paying obligations, and distributing what remains.
Trust
When one person (trustee) holds property at another person’s (settlor’s) request for the benefit of someone else (the beneficiary).
Estate Inventory
A list of the deceased person’s assets and estimated values that is filed as part of the probate process.
Devise
A gift of property left to someone through a Will.
Testator / Testatrix
The person who made the Will. (“Testatrix” is sometimes used for a woman.)