In this section we will outline some key terms that may pop up thoughout the process.

We will break down each one, making it easy to understand. Feel free to use this as your glossary! You could even keep this open in another tab or take some pictures to refer back to.

  • Estate

    To break it down, everything owned by a person is considered to be their ‘estate’. This could be money (cash and money in the bank), money owed to the person, shares, any property they own and personal possessions like their car or jewellery.

  • Will

    A will is a document that someone will write before they pass to state who will take ownership of what after they’ve died. This could be something simple like ‘I want my daughter to have my necklace’. It should detail everything they owned and who they wanted to be responsible for it.

  • Inherit

    To inherit something is to receive something from someone after they have died.

  • Rules of intestacy

    When someone dies but does not leave a will, or their will is invalid, their estate will still be shared out. This is done by ‘rules of intestacy’

    Rules of intestacy state that civil partners, married partners or children will be given the person's estate.

    If there is no married or civil partner, children will inherit. If there is a living partner, children will inherit if the estate is valued at more than £322,000.

  • Executor

    The executor is the person who is in charge of handling the estate. Their responsibility is to follow the will and distribute the person’s possessions, property and money and to settle any debts that may need to be paid.

    When writing their will, the person who has died will have appointed someone as an executor.

  • Administrator

    The administrator will do the same job as the executor. However, this term is used if the person who has died did not name anyone to be the executor or if the person who was named does not want to do that role.

    If you are the administrator, you will need to apply for ‘Letters of Administration’, which we will cover in the next section.

  • Inheritence tax

    Inheritance tax is a tax of 40% that is applied when a person inherits an estate that is worth more than £325,000

Additional resources:

These sites are helpful for some extra information on these key terms. We’ve chosen them as they are clear and easy to understand, so take some time to read through and save the ones you may want to come back to.

  • If you're unsure if there is a will and you need help with probate, the Probate Service is a great website to help!

  • Money Saving Expert also have this probate guide, which is easy to follow.

  • When in doubt, it is always good to have the government website open. Even if you're reading it alongside other guides, it's helpful to follow.