Questions Concerning Terminology of Estates

Q: What is a descendant?
A: A descendant is someone who is in a blood line of an individual who died. Examples of descendants would be children or grandchildren.

Q: What does decedent mean?
A: Decedent refers to someone who is dead.

Q: What does consanguinity mean?
A: Consanguinity refers to individuals who have blood relationships.

Q: What does dying intestate mean?
A: Dying intestate refers to an individual who dies without having a will. Should the individual have a will, it would be said that he or she died testate.

Q: Who is a distributee?
A: An individual who receives property from an estate is a distributee.

Q: What does escheat refer to?
A: This is when property goes to the State because an individual who had died had no will and no heirs who could inherit the property.