Wills and Estate Planning

• Administrator:  The person who administers a decedent’s estate when there is no will.
• Administrator With Will Annexed: The person, other than an Executor, who administers a decedent’s estate when there is a Will (the Will fails to name an Executor or the named Executor cannot or will not serve).
• Decedent: The deceased person.
• Executor: The person who administers a decedent’s estate when there is a Will.
• Heirs: Those persons who would inherit the estate of a decedent if there were no Will under the rules of descent and distribution. “Heir” does not mean the same thing as “beneficiary”, although an heir may also be a beneficiary.
• Intestate: Without a Will.
• Letters Testamentary/Letters of Administration: The official document issued by the Probate Court evidencing the authority of an executor or an administrator.
• Personal Representative: Any executor, administrator, guardian or trustee, but not a temporary administrator.
• Probate: The court procedure by which a Will is proved to be the valid last Will of a decedent; also used generically to refer to the legal process of administering a decedent’s estate.
• Probate Court: The Court having jurisdiction over proceedings to administer the estate of a decedent; also has other jurisdiction.
• Proceeding Pro Se: Representing yourself in court without an attorney
• Testator: A person who has made a Will.
• Will: A document, signed with the formalities required by Georgia law, by which a person makes disposition of his property, to take effect after his death.