Common Probate Terms: A Plain-Language Glossary

Probate comes with its own vocabulary, and most families meet all of it at once. This glossary defines the terms you'll hear from the court, your attorney, and your real estate agent — in plain language, with the California-specific meanings.

Administrator

The person the court appoints to manage the estate when someone dies without a will — usually the spouse, domestic partner, or a close relative. The administrator is one form of personal representative.

Beneficiary

A person who inherits under a will.

Decedent

The person who died.

Decedent's estate

Everything the person owned at death — all real property and personal property combined.

Executor

The person named in a will, and appointed by the court, to carry out the decedent's wishes. The executor is the other form of personal representative.

Full Authority / Limited Authority

The two levels of power a California court can grant a personal representative. With Full Authority, the representative can sell estate real property without a court confirmation hearing; with Limited Authority, the court must confirm the sale, which lengthens the process.

Heggstad petition

A California petition used when property was moved out of a living trust — commonly to refinance — and, by error, never retitled back into the trust before death. If granted, it returns the property to the trust without a full probate.

Heir

A person who inherits when there is no will.

Holographic will

A will that is handwritten, dated, and signed by the person who wrote it.

Intestate

Dying without leaving a will.

Intestate succession

The legal order that determines who inherits when someone dies without a will.

Inventory and appraisement

The complete list of the estate's assets filed with the court, with values set as of the date of death — typically by the court-appointed probate referee.

Letters testamentary / Letters of administration

The court-issued documents that give the personal representative legal authority to act for the estate — letters testamentary when there is a will, letters of administration when there is not. Escrow on an estate property cannot close until letters have been issued.

Living trust

A trust set up during a person's lifetime to hold and distribute money or property to other people or organizations — the most common tool for avoiding probate, provided assets are actually retitled into it.

Personal property

Movable belongings — cash, stocks, jewelry, clothing, furniture, vehicles, and the like.

Personal representative

The umbrella term for the administrator or executor the court appoints to manage the estate.

Probate

The court process for distributing a deceased person's assets, paying their debts, and settling their financial affairs.

Probate referee

The court-appointed appraiser who values the estate's non-cash assets for the inventory and appraisement.

Real property

Land and buildings.

Successor

Anyone with the legal right to receive a deceased person's property, whether under the will or under the Probate Code.

Testate

Dying with a valid will in place.

Trust

An arrangement in which property is held by one party for the benefit of another.

Will

A legal document stating a person's wishes for what happens to their property after death.

The information provided here is for preliminary consideration and is not legal advice. Please confer with your attorney before making final decisions.