Terms Used In Utah Code > Title 75 > Chapter 3 > Part 4 - Formal Testacy and Appointment Proceedings

• Administrator: includes "executor" when the subject matter justifies the use. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
• Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
• Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
• Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
• Application: means a written request to the registrar for an order of informal probate or appointment under Chapter 3, Part 3, Informal Probate and Appointment Proceedings. See Utah Code 75-1-201 v2
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Court: means any of the courts of record in this state having jurisdiction in matters relating to the affairs of decedents. See Utah Code 75-1-201 v2
• Decedent: A deceased person.
• Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. ^{Source: U.S. Courts}
• Estate: includes the property of the decedent, trust, or other person whose affairs are subject to this title as originally constituted and as it exists from time to time during administration. See Utah Code 75-1-201 v2
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Forgery: The fraudulent signing or alteration of another's name to an instrument such as a deed, mortgage, or check. The intent of the forgery is to deceive or defraud. ^{Source: OCC}
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Interested person: includes heirs, devisees, children, spouses, creditors, beneficiaries, and any others having a property right in or claim against a trust estate or the estate of a decedent, ward, or protected person. See Utah Code 75-1-201 v2
• Intestate: Dying without leaving a will.
• Issue: means a descendant of an individual. See Utah Code 75-1-201 v2
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• Person: means an individual or an organization. See Utah Code 75-1-201 v2
• Personal representative: includes executor, administrator, successor personal representative, special administrator, and persons who perform substantially the same function under the law governing their status. See Utah Code 75-1-201 v2
• Petition: means a written request to the court for an order after notice. See Utah Code 75-1-201 v2
• Pleadings: Written statements of the parties in a civil case of their positions. In the federal courts, the principal pleadings are the complaint and the answer.
• Probate: Proving a will
• Proceeding: includes action at law and suit in equity. See Utah Code 75-1-201 v2
• Registrar: means the official of the court designated to perform the functions of registrar as provided in Section 75-1-307. See Utah Code 75-1-201 v2
• Signature: includes a name, mark, or sign written with the intent to authenticate an instrument or writing. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
• Special administrator: means a personal representative as described in Sections 75-3-614 through 75-3-618. See Utah Code 75-1-201 v2
• State: means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, or a Native American tribe or band recognized by federal law or formally acknowledged by a state. See Utah Code 75-1-201 v2
• Successors: means persons, other than creditors, who are entitled to property of a decedent under the decedent's will or this title. See Utah Code 75-1-201 v2
• Supervised administration: means the proceedings described in Chapter 3, Part 5, Supervised Administration. See Utah Code 75-1-201 v2
• Testacy proceeding: means a proceeding to establish a will or determine intestacy. See Utah Code 75-1-201 v2
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.