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Glossary

Attestation of death
Attestation of a person's death issued by a doctor, with one copy sent to the Directeur de l'état civil and another to the person required to report the death.

Declaration of heredity
Declaration made before a notary or prepared by a lawyer which identifies the heirs.

Estate
Corpus of the deceased's property and debts at the time of his death.
Group of people who inherit, and the process by which property and debts are transferred on the death of a person.

Estate statement or inventory
List and description of the estate's assets and liabilities. It is provided by the liquidator.

Executor
Former term replaced by liquidator.

Family patrimony
Body of rules designed to provide legal and economic rights to spouses united by the bonds of marriage or civil union. These dispositions do not apply to common-law spouses.

Heir
Successor who accepts the inheritance.

Holograph will
Will entirely written and signed by the testator. No witnesses required. This type of will must be probated by the court.

Insolvent estate
Estate whose debts (liabilities) exceed its assets.

Intestate estate
Estate settled pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Civil Code, in the absence of testamentary dispositions.

Legacy
Gift of personal property by will.

Legacy by particular title
Gift by will of one or more specific items of property.

Legatee
Person to whom a bequest is left.

Legatee by particular title
Person who receives a specific bequest from the testator but who is not considered an heir. A legatee does not have the same obligations towards the estate as an heir, for example, with respect to the deceased's debts.

Liquidator
Person or trust company designated by the testator, the majority of the heirs or the court to settle the estate.

Notorial will
Will made before a notary and signed by a witness. This type of will does not have to be probated by the court.

Probate
Process before the court or a notary to recognize the formal validity of a will. Probate does not apply to a notarial will.

Solvent estate
Estate whose assets exceed its debts (liabilities).

Statement of death
Statement usually issued by the funeral director, with one copy sent to the Directeur de l'état civil and another to the person in charge of the deceased's funeral arrangements.

Successor
Person who, under the Civil Code, is entitled to inherit but has yet to accept or refuse the estate.

Testamentary disposition
Will and any other testamentary provision included in a marriage or civil union contract.

Testamentary estate
Estate settled according to the testamentary dispositions.

Testator
Person writing a will.

Will
Removable written instrument through which a person (referred to as the testator) determines what will happen to his property after death. As set out in the Civil Code, the only forms of will that may be made are the holograph will, the will before witnesses or the notarial will.

Will before witnesses
Will handwritten by the testator or a third party, dated and signed by the testator and two witnesses. This type of will must be probated by the court.