Legal Terms in Will Making

Person: Any individual adult ie. 18 years & older of sound mind.
Testator: A person who makes the Will.
Witness: A person who attests the signature of Testator of the Will. Witnesses verifies:
Testator’s sound mind & normal situation while signing the Will and
Testator has understood the content of the Will as explained by the Witness in case the Will is made in the language not familiar to the Testator.
Note: Witness or his / her Spouse must NOT be beneficiary under the Will and if they are, s/he won’t be entitled to any such Property(ies) and such Property(ies) will fall under residual assets. Further a Witness shouldn’t be very old & possibly some years younger to you so that s/he outlive or survive you. Ideally a family Doctor or a Lawyer or a Chartered Accountant should be made Witness.
Executor: A person who executes the contents of the Will after the demise of the Testator is called the Executor. The Executor is a legal representative for all purposes of the deceased person.
Duties of an Executor:
To pay testamentary and funeral expenses.
To ascertain the assets of the deceased.
To collect the debts and assets of the deceased.
To pay the debts of the deceased.
To apply & get a Probate and
To distribute deceased Assets as per the Wish.
Legatee / Beneficiary: A person who inherits the estate mentioned under a Will.
Legacy: Declaring a gift to particular person’s name under a Will. It can be Pecuniary (in amount), Specific (particular asset) or residual (rest of the Assets).
Estate(s) / Property(ies): The sum of all the Assets of a person reduced by liabilities becomes the Estate.
Intestate: Person dies without making a Will.
Probate : A copy of a Will, certified under the seal of a competent Court with a grant of Administration of the Estate to the Executor/s of the Testator. Probate is conclusive as to the representative title of the Executor. Probate cannot be granted until the expiration of seven days from the date of the Testator's death.
Letters of Administration (LoA): A letter granted by a competent Court in the event a person dies Intestate or a Will does not name any Executor/s or Executor/s appointed by a Will doesn’t take the responsibility. LoA cannot be granted till the expiration of fourteen days from the date of the Testator's death.