will
will in law, document expressing the wishes of a person (known as a testator) concerning the disposition of her property after her death. If a person dies intestate, i.e., without a valid will, statutes determine how her property is divided up among her relatives; if no relatives can be found, the property escheats (i.e., goes to the government). Wills are made to vary the statutory scheme (e.g., to give a crippled child more money than a healthy child). The will may provide for outright grants or for the establishment of trusts . No particular form of words is necessary in a will, only a clear expression of intent. Statutes usually protect the surviving spouse and children, prescribing for them a set proportion of the estate whatever the provisions of the will. Wills ordinarily must be in writing, but in certain strictly defined circumstances (e.g., in the case of soldiers or sailors in combat) the law may recognize an oral will as reported by a witness. Written wills must be subscribed (i.e., signed below the complete text) by the testator and must bear the signatures of two (or, in some jurisdictions, three) people who witnessed the testator's signature. A person has capacity to make a will only when he is of sound mind and is not unduly influenced by an interested party. Persons below a certain age (usually ranging from 18 to 21) are deemed not to have the capacity. All objections to a will must be made at the probate , which precedes the distribution (administration) of the property. Real and personal property were once passed on by two different systems, but today only remnants of the division remain (e.g., in separate sets of terms). In England the Statute of Wills (1540) lifted many restrictions on the use of wills and permitted the testator to dispose of real property by will. See heir .
Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.
|
Eminent domain: a concern for property owners. (San Fernando Valley Real Estate).
Magazine article from: San Fernando Valley Business Journal; 4/29/2002; ; 700+ words
; Most property owners pay little or no attention to...domain. These days however, if you own property in a redevelopment area, along a major...action utilizing eminent to condemn your property. The principal of eminent domain The...
Read more
|
|
Property owners must know eminent domain.(Brief Article)
Magazine article from: Los Angeles Business Journal; 5/27/2002; ; 700+ words
; Most property owners pay little or no attention to...domain. These days however, if you own property in a redevelopment area, along a major...utilizing eminent domain to condemn your property. The principal of eminent domain The...
Read more
|
|
Property pieces in compensation statutes: law's eulogy for Oregon's measure 37.
Magazine article from: Environmental Law; 9/22/2008; ; 700+ words
; ...OREGON'S MEASURE 37 AS RIGHTS WITHOUT PROPERTY A. The Text of Measure 37 B. Understanding...Capture: Excusing a Claimant From Earning a Property Expectation C. Understanding the Measure as Piecing Out Property Duties III. LAND USE CONTROLS: EUCLIDEAN...
Read more
|
|
Nationbuilding 101: reductionism in property, liberty, and corporate governance.
Magazine article from: Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law; 3/1/2003; ; 700+ words
; ...Professor Reed re-examines the importance of property as a formal legal institution. He continues by arguing that central to creating property is the right to exclude others from resources...virtual semantic equivalence of the terms property and liberty. Finally, he argues that...
Read more
|
|
Who is responsible for maintenance of a property during foreclosure proceedings?
Magazine article from: Real Estate Weekly; 8/18/1999; ; 700+ words
; The responsibility for damages to property during the pendency of a foreclosure...in foreclosure proceedings - the property owner, the foreclosing bank, nor the court-appointed receiver - made the property secure so as to avoid vandalism...
Read more
|
|
A diamond in the rough: with a well-executed value play, a smart buyer can transform an underachieving property into a lucrative gem.(Independent Rental Owner)
Magazine article from: Units; 5/1/2007; ; 700+ words
; A poorly performing rental property often appears to be a hopeless cause. But...secrets of a successful value play. When property is performing poorly, causing the seller to divest the property at a deep discount relative to the current...
Read more
|
|
Three steps to property cleanup. (includes related article)
Magazine article from: Alaska Business Monthly; 6/1/1994; ; 700+ words
; Is your property polluted? If so, here's what you can...changed, and nobody knows that better than property owners trying to comply with today's...business owners sprinkled oil around their property to keep the dust down. Junkyard dealers...
Read more
|
|
Full-service companies making a comeback. (residential property management companies) (Annual Review & Forecast, Section IV) (Company Profile)
Magazine article from: Real Estate Weekly; 1/26/1994; ; 700+ words
; The questions confronting residential property managers are complex. They often require...management organizations How should a property be valued? How can building staff performance...secure the best rate of return for a property and fund its future capital construction...
Read more
|
|
A Woman's Kingdom: Noblewomen and the Control of Property in Russia, 1700-1861.(Book Review)
Magazine article from: Journal of Social History; 12/22/2004; ; 700+ words
; ...Kingdom: Noblewomen and the Control of Property in Russia, 1700-1861. By Michelle Lamarche...restrictions on women's autonomy, its property and inheritance law protected the rights...Derzhavina to inherit, acquire, and alienate property in their own names, in marked contrast...
Read more
|
|
Did you get what you paid for? Caveat emptor stands for the proposition that a purchaser takes a property, with all defects of quality and condition, as he or she finds it.(Feature Report on Real Estate Law)
Magazine article from: LawNow; 7/1/2007; ; 700+ words
; The sale and purchase of a property is, legally speaking, a beautiful...after. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Yes, a property transaction is a beautiful thing...in the quality or condition of a property are discovered after a property has...
Read more
|
|
philately
Book article from: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology
philately postage-stamp-collecting. XIX. — F. philatélie , f. Gr. phil- PHILO- + ateleíā exemption from payment, f. A-4 + télos charge, tax; see -Y3 . Hence philatelic , philatelist XIX.
Read more
|
|
provoke
Book article from: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology
provoke XV. — (O)F. provoquer or L. prōvocāre , f. PRO-1 + vocāre call. So provocation , provocative XV. — (O)F. or (late) L.
Read more
|
|
pizzle
Book article from: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology
pizzle penis of a bull, etc. XVI ( peezel , pysell ). — LG. pēsel . Flem. pēzel , dim. of MLG. pēse , MDu. pēze (Du. pees sinew, string, penis); cf. -EL1 , -LE1 .
Read more
|
|
pyretic
Book article from: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology
pyretic pert. to fever. XIX. f. Gr. puretós fever. f. pûr FIRE ; see -IC .
Read more
|
|
porrect
Book article from: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology
porrect (techn.) stretch out XV; put forward XVIII. f. porrect- , pp. stem of L. porrigere , f. por- = PRO-1 + regere stretch, direct; cf. DIRECT .
Read more
|