To bequeath is to give personal property via a will, where the personal property owned by the decedent at the time of death is disposed of as a gift. Traditionally, bequeathing has been used to give personal property, while devising has been...
trusts, inheritances & estates
bequest
Bequest is a gift of personal property made through a will. Traditionally, bequests have been used for the giving of personal property, while devises have been used for the giving of real property. However, bequests can also refer to real...
blind trust
Blind trusts refers to trusts established so that neither trustor or the beneficiary knows what assets are inside the trust after its creation. The trustee manages the trust until the beneficiaries are supposed to receive the assets or until...
bypass trust
Bypass trust (also called an AB trust or a credit shelter trust) is a tool used by well-off married individuals to legally maximize their estate tax exemptions.
The strategy involves creating two separate trusts after one...
cancel
In a legal context, to cancel is to render something otherwise valid as void or no longer in effect. For example, a person might write a check and then destroy it or write “void” across its face; both would successfully eliminate the check’s...
cancellation
Cancellation is the act of destroying a document by making lines through it, tearing it up, or defacing it with the intention of rendering it void. In contract law, cancellation happens when a party to a contract ends the contract due to the...
capture doctrine: trusts
The capture doctrine is a theory in trust law that addresses the disposition of ineffectively appointed property under general power. Under the capture doctrine, a power of appointment is invalid or ineffective if there is evidence that the...
causa mortis
Causa mortis is a Latin term referring to the awareness that death is approaching. In property law, when a party, acting with awareness that their death is approaching, gives something to another party, the resulting gift is known as a gift...
certificate of trust
Certificate of trust is a brief version of the trust document that allows certain details of the trust that you want to keep confidential to be omitted (such as the names of the beneficiaries). It is often used to provide proof of trust...
certification of trust
Certification of trust is a brief version of the trust document that allows certain details of the trust (such as the names of the beneficiaries) that you want to keep confidential to be omitted. It is often used to provide proof of trust...