An ancestor is a predecessor in the family. In a legal sense, especially in the law of inheritance, any person whose estate is inherited by legal act or descent is an ancestor. The term ancestor applies only to natural persons. Predecessors...
financial events
ancillary administration
Ancillary administration is the performance of ancillary probate which is a proceeding for estate assets located in another state than where the deceased lived. Each state has its own property laws, so administrators of estates must have a...
ancillary probate
Ancillary probate is a secondary proceeding required in another state than the original probate proceeding. This secondary proceeding is required where the deceased left property or assets in more than one state, and because each state has...
annual exclusion amount
The Annual Exclusion amount is the amount of money that one person may transfer to another as a gift without incurring a gift tax or affecting the unified credit. This annual gift exclusion can be transferred in the form of cash or other...
annual exclusion gift
An annual exclusion gift usually involves cash, stocks, bonds, portions of real estate, or forgiving debt on a family loan in an amount that doesn't exceed the annual gift tax exclusion. The federal government sets the allowable limits for...
annuity
Annuities are long-term contracts between individuals and insurance companies that individuals typically enter into as part of retirement planning. Individuals make payments to the insurance company, which the insurance company will in...
anti-contest clause
Anti-contest clauses (also known as in terrorem clauses, contest clauses, no-contest clauses, noncontest clauses, and forfeiture clauses) are clauses in a will that impose a condition upon a devisee or legatee that they will not dispute the...
anti-lapse statute
Anti-lapse statutes are laws enacted in every state that prevent bequests from lapsing when the intended beneficiary has relatives covered by the statute. Without the statutes, if someone were to bequeath something to an intended beneficiary...
antilapse statute
Anti-lapse statutes are laws enacted in every state that prevent bequests from lapsing when the intended beneficiary has relatives covered by the statute. Without the statutes, if someone were to bequeath something to an intended beneficiary...
antitransfer Laws
Antitransfer laws, sometimes referred to as transfer of assets rules, penalize individuals who obtain eligibility for public benefits, such as Medicaid or SSI, by disposing of assets for less than fair market value. For example, Title XIX of...