Probate, Wills and Adoptions Glossary Terms

Formal legal documentation of your wishes related to your body and healthcare, should you become incapacitated or die. They may include living wills, durable health care powers of attorney, durable mental health care declarations, and anatomical gift forms.

The annual payment of an allowance or income. Commercial annuities are usually issued by an insurance company or investment company in exchange for an initial monetary deposit. They can also be issued by a charity, in exchange for a donation. The purchase of an annuity can be part of an estate plan or could be part of the monetary settlement from an injury or malpractice claim.

Typically a combination of apartment-style living with supportive services, designed to help older adults live in an independent setting for as long as possible. The Ohio Department of Health licenses facilities as Residential Care Facilities in the State of Ohio.

Refers to the person or entity (like a charity) who receives assets or profits from an estate, a trust, an insurance policy or any other financial vehicle from which assets are distributed after death.

Copyright is protection provided to authors of fixed literary, dramatic, artistic, and musical works as well as some other intellectual works, published and unpublished. The owner of a copyright has the exclusive rights to use the copyrighted work for reproduction, distribution, creating derivative works and public display of the work. Copyright protects the form of expression but not the subject matter, protecting for instance, the way an author described a cat but not preventing anyone else from writing their own description of a cat – as long as it is not copied from an original work. The Library of Congress registers copyrights. Registered copyrights of works created since 1978 last the life of the author plus 70 years. For works "made for hire", the duration of copyright will be 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation, whichever is shorter. Some treaties extend copyright protection in member countries.

A document that grants a person of your choice (usually called your agent or attorney-in-fact) legal authority to manage your financial affairs, effective immediately and whether or not you are incapacitated or incompetent.

Refers to people who die without a will. In this case, the state (probate court) will make a will for your estate.

The person named in a will to be in charge of finalizing a deceased person's financial affairs after death, taking care of property and assets and paying debts and taxes until the balance of the estate is transferred to the heirs, according to the will. Executors handle probate court proceedings or hire an attorney to do so on behalf of the estate. The executor will need to find all property, open estate bank accounts to receive checks or funds owed during the probate process, pay estate bills from the estate fund until it is finalized. If there is no will, the person who handles these details is appointed by the court and called an administrator, and will be required to determine who the deceased person’s heirs are, according to state law.

The person(s) you choose, should both parents die, to be responsible for the care, health, education, and welfare of minor children until they reach 18 years old. Guardians can also be chosen to provide care for pets should owners precede them in death. Permission should be sought of guardians in advance to be sure they are willing to take on this responsibility.

A term referring to a variety of plans designed to help older homeowners use the equity in their homes without requiring them to move. The three main types are sale-leaseback, reverse mortgages, and deferred payment loans.

Sometimes abbreviated as JTWROS on financial documents, refers to the joint and equal ownership of property or assets by two people. Married couples with bank accounts often have joint tenancy, giving each equal access to the funds. Joint tenant accounts are also sometimes set up for an elderly person so that a caretaker or child may have access to funds to care for the person or pay their bills. Assets in joint tenancy are not required to go through probate court after death. Joint tenant accounts should only be set up when both people can be trusted absolutely to act in the other’s best interest.

Considered an “advance directive” plan, a living will is a legal document that expresses your intentions about whether extraordinary life-support should be maintained by your physicians in the event you are in a terminal condition or permanently unconscious state, and grants a person of your choice (usually called your agent or attorney-in-fact) legal authority to make this difficult decision in accordance with your wishes if you are unable to do so. Living wills for most states indicate what situations warrant life-support being discontinued and require that the decision be made in conjunction with the patient’s doctor.

Patents protect inventions and improvements to existing inventions. A patent grants an inventor permission to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling their invention in the United States or importing their invention into the United States. There are three types of patents: utility, design, and plant. Typically, utility and plant patent last 20 years from filing and design patents have a term of 14 years. A utility patent will expire during its term unless appropriate maintenance fees are timely paid. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues patents but the owner has to enforce the patent without the help of the USPTO. Patents are issued and enforced by country.

Refers to financial accounts that immediately transfer to a named person (beneficiary) on your death. The beneficiary has no access to the funds during your lifetime. Common Payable on Death accounts are life insurance, annuities, and retirement funds, all of which typically require that you name a beneficiary to whom the assets will immediately pass upon your death. Other accounts, like savings or checking accounts can also be set up as Payable on Death, so that the monies are not required to be dispersed by probate court.

The party (individual) or entity who starts a lawsuit against another party (the defendant) in a court of law.

Also known as Reverse Annuity Mortgage (RAM). RAM is a special mortgage where a lender makes monthly payments to the homeowner in an amount determined by the age and health of the homeowner, the term of the loan, and the value of the home. Payments may be for a set period of time or for as long as the homeowner lives in the home. Some plans offer cash payments, a line of credit, and/or some combination of these. In most plans, the owner retains title to the home, and need not repay any of the money until sale or transfer of the property.

A document that grants a person of your choice (usually called your agent or attorney-in-fact) legal authority to take action or manage your affairs on your behalf, effective only when you (the principal) become incapacitated, incompetent, or unable to manage your affairs.

Trademarks or service marks,(also referred to just as "marks"), protect brands, brand names, symbols, logos, devices, and designs applied to products or used in connection with services. A trademark can be words, a design, a color, a sound, a smell and even the way something feels as long as it is distinctive. The USPTO issues federal mark registrations used "in commerce," which is generally in more than one state. Only marks with final USPTO federal registration can be shown with the "®" symbol. Federally registered marks are benefited by: the owner’s ability to take action in federal court on behalf of the mark; the owner's ability to legally enforce the mark nationwide; the owner's ability to use the filing date of the U.S. application in a foreign registration to predate registrations in foreign countries; and the owner's ability to record the registration with the U.S. Customs Office (to prevent the importing of infringing foreign goods). U.S. federal trademark registrations are valid for 10 years after registration, providing that the owner uses the mark during the terms and an "Affidavit of Use" has been filed between the fifth and sixth years following registration. States also issue state trademark protection. Federal trademarks are issued and enforced by each country.