Ab intestato is a Latin term meaning "by intestacy." The term refers to laws governing the succession of property after the previous owner of the property dies without a valid will.
[Last updated in June of 2022 by the Wex...
trusts, inheritances & estates
AB Trust
AB trust (also called a bypass trust or a credit shelter trust) is a tool often used by well-off married individuals to legally maximize their estate tax exemptions.
The strategy involves creating two separate trusts after...
abandon
Abandon refers to the act of abandonment. A party can “abandon” in multiple fields of law and abandoning generally, though not always, involves voluntarily giving up a right.
See abandonment for more information.
...abatement
Abatement is the act of reducing or nullifying something. Multiple subjects throughout law are subject to abatement and the term appears in many locations.
In property law, abatement refers to a reduction in property taxes a...
absolute
Absolute is used commonly in property law and in divorce law meaning final or without limitations.
Property: Absolute is used in property law to describe an estate that is free from any limitations. Only a fee simple may be...abstract
Abstract refers to an abbreviated history of an official record. Some common usages of the term “abstract” in a legal sense include:
“Abstract of title” merely recites what the land records disclose without giving opinion or advice...abstract of trust
Abstract of trust is a brief version of the trust document that allows certain details of the trust (such as the names of the beneficiaries) that you want to keep confidential to be omitted. It is often used to provide proof of trust...
accession
Accession has several specialized meanings in legal contexts.
In international law, accession is the act of a state accepting an offer to become a party to an existing treaty that was previously negotiated and signed between other...accretion
Accretion, in law, usually refers to the slow addition of land next to water due to the water’s movement or the increase of beneficiary’s share of a trust due to the actions of another beneficiary.
Accretion from natural...
accumulation trust
Accumulation trust is a type of see-through trust that allows withdrawals to be made or kept within the trust. See-through trusts are established by people with individual retirement accounts (IRA) so that the assets in their IRAs are...