Actuarial Value of an Annuity - The amount it will cost at the present time to pay an annuitant "x" amount of dollars for the rest of his or her life, based on the mortality tables and certain interest assumptions.

Administrator - The person or entity (often a bank) appointed by the court to settle the affairs of a decedent who dies without a will, or whose named executor cannot or will not serve.

Administrative Expenses - Those necessarily incurred in the administration of the estate - the collection of assets, the payment of debts, and the distribution of property. Examples include commissions, attorneys' fees, and miscellaneous expenses.

Annuity - The financial arrangement or contract an annuitant makes with a third party (family members, insurance company, or charity) in which he or she will receive a specific amount at stated intervals for life or for a term certain in consideration of either cash or other assets.

Basis - The original acquisition price is the cost basis. Adjusted basis is generally cost basis less any allowance against basis, such as depreciation, plus any additional investment in the asset. Adjusted basis normally is the value used for tax purposes to determine gain or loss.

Beneficiary - The person or entity named in a will to receive a devise or a legacy or the use of estate assets. Also, the person or entity to whom death proceeds of an insurance policy are payable.

Bequest - A direction by will to give personal property to a particular beneficiary; also called a legacy. A bequest may be general and unconditional, residuary, or contingent.

Charitable Deduction - The deduction allowable for gifts made to qualified charitable institutions. If the gift consists of cash, the income -tax deduction is limited to 50 percent of the donor's contribution base. If the gift exceeds the limitation, the donor may deduct the excess in the following year or years (up to five years). There are no limitations on the charitable deductions allowable for gift - or estate -tax purposes.

Corpus - The fund or capital upon which income is earned; also called principal.

Deferred Gift - Any arrangement whereby money or property is set aside for the future use and enjoyment of a charity.

Estate Tax - The graduated tax imposed by the federal government and some states on the transfer of property at death.

Exclusion, Annual - The continuing right of a donor to make a tax -free gift of up to $11,000 to each of any number of donees in any year; applies only to gifts of present interest; increased to $22,000 if gift -splitting with one's spouse.

Executor - The person or entity (often a bank) nominated in the will of another to carry out the terms of the will.

Gift-Splitting - The annual exclusion is raised to $22,000 when a husband and wife join in the gift and file a statement with the IRS accordingly. There is no tax liability.

Gift Tax - A tax on the transfer (during the donor's lifetime) of property worth more than $11,000 per year to another person; payable primarily by the donor.

Grantee - The person to whom property is transferred.

Grantor - The person transferring property. This term is also used to refer to a person who transfers property in trust.

Gross Estate - Includes all property in which the decedent owned an interest at his or her death. It embraces such items as personal property, real property, life insurance, and joint property. It can also include certain lifetime transfers in which the decedent retained the right to income, possession, or enjoyment of the property.

Inheritance Tax - A state tax on an heir's right to receive property, determined by the value of the asset.

Life Estate - An interest in property for life. For example, a person who has the right to occupy a residence for the duration of his or her life has a life estate in the property.

Life-Income Plan - An arrangement by which a person gives a principal sum or property to an institution with the stipulation that income be paid to one or more beneficiaries for their lives, according to an agreed -upon payout arrangement.

Power of Appointment - The right to direct the disposition of property one does not own, such as the right of a trust -income beneficiary to designate the person to receive the trust principal upon the beneficiary's death.

General Power - A power exercisable in favor of the holder of the power, or of his or her estate, creditors, or the creditors of the estate. Limited or Nongeneral Power - A power that is not a general power. Trust - The arrangement whereby property is held by a trustee (an individual or entity) for the benefit of another. The trustee holds legal title to the property. The beneficiary is the person or institution who is benefited. The person establishing the trust is called the grantor, creator, donor, or settlor.

Irrevocable Trust - A trust that cannot be ended by the person who created it.

Revocable Trust - A trust that may be ended by the person who created it.

Will - The legal declaration of a person's intentions as to the disposition of his or her property upon death.