Estate planning has its own language and terminology. Understanding these terms can be challenging, but it is important for making informed decisions about your assets and property.
This glossary provides a starting point to help you understand common legal concepts used in estate planning.
Estate planning terms
The terms are listed in alphabetical order.
Advance Directive
In Oregon, the Advance Directive is the document that records your health care wishes and appoints your Health Care Representative. In Washington, health care wishes are recorded in a Health Care Directive. The person who makes decisions for you is named in a separate Health Care Power of Attorney.
Annual Exclusion Amount
The annual exclusion amount is the amount an individual can give each year to any number of recipients without incurring federal gift tax or triggering IRS reporting requirements. These gifts also do not count against an individual’s federal applicable exclusion amount.
The annual exclusion is adjusted for inflation and is set at $19,000 per recipient for 2026.
Payments made directly to providers for education or medical care are also gift-tax-free regardless of the amount and do not use any annual or lifetime exclusion.
Ascertainable Standard
An ascertainable standard defines the permissible reasons for making distributions from a trust. These standards usually relate to a beneficiary’s health, education, support, or maintenance.
Using an ascertainable standard can prevent distributions from being included in a Trustee-beneficiary’s gross estate for federal estate tax purposes.
However, depending on state law, this type of standard may provide less protection from creditors. If you are concerned about risks such as lawsuits or divorce, discuss distribution standards with your attorney. For more, see this article.
Attorney-in-Fact
A power of attorney is a legal document that allows one person to act on behalf of another in financial matters.
The person granted this authority is called the agent or attorney-in-fact. The agent may manage bank accounts, pay bills, and make investment decisions for the principal.
It is important to select a trustworthy and capable agent and ensure the document is properly executed according to legal requirements.
Basis and Step-Up
Basis is the value used to measure gain for income tax when property is sold, usually what was paid for it.
When someone dies, property they owned generally gets a new basis equal to its value at death. This is called a step-up in basis, and it can greatly reduce capital gains tax when the property is later sold. At the first spouse’s death, both halves of community property get a step-up. For more, see this article.
Beneficiary
A beneficiary is a person or entity entitled to receive assets from a trust or estate, either now or in the future.
Beneficiaries can include individuals, charities, or even pets. They are typically named in a Will, Revocable Trust, or other estate planning document.
Beneficiary Designation
A beneficiary designation is a form that names who receives an account or policy, such as a retirement account or life insurance, at your death. It controls that account even if your Will or Revocable Trust says something different. For more, see this article.
Community Property
Community property is property owned equally (50/50) by both spouses in a marriage. By default, it includes property acquired by either spouse during the marriage unless it can be traced back to separate property funds used at the time of purchase.
Washington is a community property state. Oregon is not, but it respects community property brought from a community property state. For more, see this article.
Community Property Agreement
A community property agreement is a signed agreement in which a Washington couple treats everything they own as community property. One kind also passes all community property to the surviving spouse at the first death, without probate. For more, see this article.
Conservator
A conservator is a person appointed by a court to manage the money and property of a minor or an incapacitated adult. The court process is called a conservatorship. Washington and Oregon both use this term. A conservator and a guardian may be the same person. For more, see this article.
Credit Shelter Trust
A Credit Shelter Trust, also called a Bypass Trust or Family Trust, holds property up to the exclusion amount at the first spouse’s death. The surviving spouse can benefit from it, but what is left is not taxed again at the surviving spouse’s death. For more, see this article.
Decedent
A person who has died.
Descendants
Descendants (sometimes called “issue”) include a person’s children, grandchildren, and other direct bloodline descendants.
This definition generally does not include spouses, stepchildren, parents, siblings, or other relatives.
Disclaimer
A disclaimer is the refusal to accept a gift, inheritance, or beneficiary designation so that the property passes to another recipient.
To qualify under federal tax law, the disclaimer must usually be made within nine months and before the person has accepted any interest in the property. Otherwise, it may trigger a tax consequence.
State laws may differ, and some estate planning documents contain provisions governing how disclaimed assets are handled.
Disclaimer Trust
A Disclaimer Trust is a Credit Shelter Trust that is funded only if the surviving spouse disclaims part of what they inherit. It lets the surviving spouse decide after the first death, when the real numbers are known. For more, see this article.
Distribution
A distribution is money or property the Trustee gives from a trust to a beneficiary, or uses for their benefit. Trusts usually provide for mandatory distributions, discretionary distributions, or accumulation of income, or a mix of them. For more, see this article.
Estate Tax
Estate tax is a tax on the value of a deceased person’s estate that exceeds certain thresholds.
The federal estate tax exempts an amount equal to the federal applicable exclusion amount. Washington and Oregon each have their own estate tax, with much lower thresholds. For more, see this article.
Executor
In modern estate planning terminology, an executor is typically referred to as a Personal Representative.
Federal Applicable Exclusion Amount
The federal applicable exclusion amount, sometimes called the estate tax exemption or unified credit, is the amount an individual can transfer during life or at death without incurring federal estate or gift tax.
For 2026, this amount is $15 million per person. It is adjusted annually for inflation. Because the exclusion applies to each individual, a married couple may potentially transfer up to $30 million without federal estate or gift tax.
Fiduciary
A fiduciary is a person or company that manages money or property for someone else and must act in that person’s best interests. Personal Representatives, Trustees, Agents under a power of attorney, Guardians, and Conservators are all fiduciaries. For more, see this article.
Financial Power of Attorney
A financial power of attorney names an Agent to manage your money and property if you cannot. In Washington, the document must state that it remains in effect if you become incapacitated. For more, see this article.
Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax
The generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax applies to transfers of assets to individuals who are two or more generations younger than the transferor, such as grandchildren.
The federal GST tax also provides an exemption equal to the federal applicable exclusion amount.
Gift Tax
Gift tax is a federal tax on transfers of property made during a person’s lifetime. Washington and Oregon do not have a gift tax.
Grantor
A grantor is the person or entity who creates a trust. Other common terms include settlor, trustor, or donor.
Guardian
A guardian is a person appointed by a court to care for a minor child or an incapacitated adult. A guardian makes personal and medical decisions, such as where the person lives and what care they receive.
Financial decisions are made by a conservator, who may be the same person. For more, see this article.
Health Care Agent
A Health Care Agent is the person you name to make medical decisions for you if you cannot. In Washington, the Health Care Agent is named in a Health Care Power of Attorney. In Oregon, the same role is called the Health Care Representative and is named in your Advance Directive. For more, see this article.
Health Care Power of Attorney
In Washington, this document appoints a Health Care Agent to make health care decisions if the person creating the document becomes incapacitated. It is sometimes referred to as a health care proxy.
Oregon does not use a Health Care Power of Attorney. The Health Care Representative is appointed in the Advance Directive.
Heir
An heir is a person entitled to inherit property under state law when someone dies without a Will. “Heir” and “beneficiary” are not the same term, although they may refer to the same person in some cases.
Incapacity
Incapacity refers to the inability of a person to make or communicate decisions due to physical or mental conditions.
Legal standards for determining incapacity vary and sometimes require a court determination.
Intestacy
Intestacy refers to the legal rules that determine how assets are distributed when a person dies without a valid Will.
These laws typically prioritize spouses, children, parents, siblings, and other relatives.
Inventory
An inventory is a list of the assets and liabilities of a deceased person’s estate or a trust. In Oregon, the Personal Representative must file an inventory with the probate court. In Washington, an inventory is prepared but does not always have to be filed with the court.
Irrevocable Trust
An irrevocable trust is a trust that generally cannot be changed or revoked after it is created.
Once assets are transferred into the trust, the grantor gives up control, and the Trustee manages the assets for the benefit of the beneficiaries.
Joint Tenancy with Right of Survivorship
Joint tenancy is a form of ownership where two or more people own property together with equal interests.
If one owner dies, their share automatically transfers to the surviving owner or owners without probate.
Living Will
A living will is a legal document that states a person’s wishes about life support or certain medical treatments if they become unable to communicate their decisions.
In Washington, this document is called a Health Care Directive. In Oregon, these wishes are recorded in the Advance Directive.
Marital Deduction
The marital deduction lets you leave any amount to your spouse without estate tax at your death. The tax is put off until your spouse dies. For more, see this article.
Marital Trust
A Marital Trust, also called a QTIP Trust, is usually designed to qualify for the marital deduction. It must distribute all of its income to the surviving spouse at least once a year. What is left after the surviving spouse dies passes as the plan directs. For more, see this article.
Personal Representative
A Personal Representative is the person responsible for managing and administering a deceased person’s estate.
Their duties may include gathering assets, paying debts and taxes, and distributing property to beneficiaries.
Portability
Portability is a federal rule that lets a surviving spouse use the first spouse’s unused federal estate tax exclusion. It requires filing an estate tax return at the first death. Washington and Oregon do not allow portability.
Power of Appointment
A power of appointment allows a person, often a beneficiary, to determine who will receive certain trust assets.
The power may be general (allowing distribution to anyone) or limited (restricting distributions to a specified group).
Probate
Probate is the court-supervised process used to administer a deceased person’s estate.
If a Will is the primary estate planning document, probate is generally required to authorize a Personal Representative to distribute assets.
Quasi-Community Property
Quasi-community property is a Washington term for property acquired while living elsewhere that would have been community property if acquired in Washington. At death, it is treated much like community property.
Revocable Trust
A Revocable Trust is a trust created during a person’s lifetime that can be changed or revoked while the person is still alive.
The grantor often serves as Trustee during their lifetime and names beneficiaries to receive assets after death. For more, see this article for Washington or for Oregon.
Separate Property
Separate property is owned entirely by one spouse. It usually includes property owned before marriage or received during marriage as a gift or inheritance.
Special Needs Trust
A Special Needs Trust (also called a supplemental needs trust) holds an inheritance or gift for a person with a disability so that it supplements, rather than replaces, needs-based government benefits such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Medicaid.
The Trustee decides how the money is used and the beneficiary cannot demand it, so the trust assets are generally not counted when eligibility for those benefits is determined. A Special Needs Trust can be created in a Will or a Revocable Trust as part of an estate plan.
Spendthrift Provision
A spendthrift provision restricts a beneficiary’s ability to transfer or pledge their interest in a trust.
It is often used to protect trust assets from creditors or legal claims against the beneficiary.
Successor Trustee
A Successor Trustee is the person or company who takes over managing a trust when the current Trustee dies, resigns, or can no longer serve. For a Revocable Trust, the Successor Trustee usually takes over when the person who created the trust becomes incapacitated or dies.
Tangible Personal Property
Tangible personal property refers to physical items that can be moved or touched, such as furniture, jewelry, vehicles, and personal belongings.
Tenancy in Common
Tenancy in common is a co-ownership arrangement where each owner holds an undivided interest in the property.
Each owner’s share can be transferred during life or at death. At your death, your share passes under your Will or Revocable Trust, not to the other owners. Any co-owner can usually ask a court to divide or sell the property, which is called partition.
Testamentary Trust
A testamentary trust is a trust that starts at your death to hold property for someone, such as a surviving spouse or a child. It can be written into a Will or a Revocable Trust. For more, see this article.
Trust
A trust is a legal arrangement in which property is managed by a Trustee for the benefit of one or more beneficiaries.
The Trustee has a fiduciary duty to manage the property responsibly and in the beneficiaries’ best interests.
Trust Instrument
The trust instrument (also called a trust agreement or declaration of trust) is the document that establishes the trust and defines how its assets must be managed and distributed.
Trustee
A Trustee is the person or institution responsible for managing the assets of a trust according to the trust instrument.
Trustees must act in the best interests of the beneficiaries and carry out fiduciary responsibilities.
UTMA Account
A UTMA account is an account held for a minor under the Uniform Transfers to Minors Act. A custodian manages it until the child turns 21, or in some cases 25, and then the child receives it outright. It is simpler than a trust but offers fewer choices about when and how the child receives the money. For more, see this article.