Terms Used In Delaware Code > Title 10 > Chapter 43 - Evidence and Witnesses

• Adjudicative proceeding: means any judicial or quasi-judicial proceeding in which the rights of parties are determined but does not include any proceeding of a grand jury. See Delaware Code Title 10 Sec. 4320
• 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.
• Amortization: Paying off a loan by regular installments.
• Ancillary administration: Probate administration of property (usually real property) owned in a State other than the one in which the decedent had his (her) principal residence at the time of death.
• Annuity: A periodic (usually annual) payment of a fixed sum of money for either the life of the recipient or for a fixed number of years. A series of payments under a contract from an insurance company, a trust company, or an individual. Annuity payments are made at regular intervals over a period of more than one full year.
• Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
• 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.
• Appraisal: A determination of property value.
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
• Attorney-in-fact: A person who, acting as an agent, is given written authorization by another person to transact business for him (her) out of court.
• Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. ^{Source: OCC}
• Beneficiary designation: means a testamentary or nontestamentary instrument or contract, other than an instrument creating a trust, naming the beneficiary of:

  a. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 602

• Beneficiary form: means a registration of a security which indicates the present owner of the security and the intention of the owner regarding the person who will become the owner of the security upon the death of the owner. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 801
• Bequest: Property gifted by will.
• Building: means a structure having a roof and intended to shelter persons, animals, property or a business activity. See Delaware Code Title 9 Sec. 2501
• Building sewer system: means equipment, appliances, pipes, fittings, fixtures and other appurtenances that convey liquid and water-carried waste from the building or structure to a public sewer, private sewer, individual sewage disposal system or other point of disposal. See Delaware Code Title 9 Sec. 2501
• Chambers: A judge's office.
• Child: means a person who has not reached the age of 18 years. See Delaware Code Title 1 Sec. 302
• Code: means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (26 U. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 602
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• County Council: shall mean the County Council for New Castle County. See Delaware Code Title 9 Sec. 2501
• Court: means the Court of Chancery. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 39A-101
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Decedent: A deceased person.
• Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Department of Land Use: shall mean the New Castle County Department of Land Use. See Delaware Code Title 9 Sec. 2501
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• Deposition: An oral statement made before an officer authorized by law to administer oaths. Such statements are often taken to examine potential witnesses, to obtain discovery, or to be used later in trial.
• Devise: To gift property by will.
• Disclaimant: means the person to whom a disclaimed interest in property would have passed had the disclaimer not been made, or the person who would have had a power over property or with respect to property, including a power of appointment, had the disclaimer not been made. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 602
• Disclaimed interest: means the interest that would have passed to the disclaimant had the disclaimer not been made. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 602
• Disclaimer: means the refusal to accept an interest in or power over property. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 602
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Donee: The recipient of a gift.
• 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}
• 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.
• Executor: A male person named in a will to carry out the decedent
• Fee simple: Absolute title to property with no limitations or restrictions regarding the person who may inherit it.
• Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
• Fiduciary: means a personal representative, trustee of a trust, agent acting under a power of attorney, conservator, custodian under a Uniform Transfers to Minors Act [Chapter 45 of this title] or similar statute of any jurisdiction, guardian, or other person authorized to act as a fiduciary with respect to the property or power of another person. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 602
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Fuel gas system: shall mean natural or liquid gas appliances and related accessories, including gas piping extending from the point of delivery to the inlet connections of appliances. See Delaware Code Title 9 Sec. 2501
• Full age: means the age of 18 years or older. See Delaware Code Title 1 Sec. 302
• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• Grand jury: agreement providing that a lender will delay exercising its rights (in the case of a mortgage,
• Gross estate: The total fair market value of all property and property interests, real and personal, tangible and intangible, of which a decedent had beneficial ownership at the time of death before subtractions for deductions, debts, administrative expenses, and casualty losses suffered during estate administration.
• Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
• Guardian: is a "guardian of the person" as that term is used in this title. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 39A-101
• Heirs: means those persons, including the surviving spouse, who are entitled under the statutes of intestate succession to the property of a decedent. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 801
• Holder: means the person holding a power of appointment over an interest in property held in a trust, or holding a power over a trust, who is granted the right or authority to exercise the power of appointment over an interest in property held in a trust or of a power over a trust under the terms of the instrument governing the trust. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 602
• Infancy: means an age of less than 18 years. See Delaware Code Title 1 Sec. 302
• Information: means any oral, written or pictorial material and includes, but is not limited to, documents, electronic impulses, expressions of opinion, films, photographs, sound records, and statistical data. See Delaware Code Title 10 Sec. 4320
• Inter vivos: Transfer of property from one living person to another living person.
• Interrogatories: Written questions asked by one party of an opposing party, who must answer them in writing under oath; a discovery device in a lawsuit.
• Intestate: Dying without leaving a will.
• Jointly held property: means property held in the name of 2 or more persons under an arrangement in which all owners have concurrent interests and under which the last surviving owner is entitled to the whole of the property. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 602
• 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.
• Legacy: A gift of property made by will.
• Legatee: A beneficiary of a decedent
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Lineal descendant: Direct descendant of the same ancestors.
• Local administration: means administration by a personal representative appointed in this State pursuant to appointment proceedings described in this title. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 1561
• Local personal representative: includes any personal representative appointed in this State pursuant to appointment proceedings described in this title and excludes foreign personal representatives who acquire the power of a local personal representative pursuant to § 1566 of this title. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 1561
• Marital deduction: The deduction(s) that can be taken in the determination of gift and estate tax liabilities because of the existence of a marriage or marital relationship.
• Mechanical system: shall mean a system permanently installed and utilized to provide for the control of environmental conditions and related processes within buildings and structures, including equipment, appliances, fixtures, fittings, and appurtenances, including ventilating, heating, cooling, air conditioning and refrigeration systems, incinerators and other energy related systems. See Delaware Code Title 9 Sec. 2501
• Month: means a calendar month, unless otherwise expressed. See Delaware Code Title 1 Sec. 302
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• National Bank: A bank that is subject to the supervision of the Comptroller of the Currency. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is a bureau of the U.S. Treasury Department. A national bank can be recognized because it must have "national" or "national association" in its name. ^{Source: OCC}
• Nolo contendere: No contest-has the same effect as a plea of guilty, as far as the criminal sentence is concerned, but may not be considered as an admission of guilt for any other purpose.
• Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
• Oath: includes affirmation in all cases where an affirmation may be substituted for an oath, and "sworn" includes affirmed; and the forms shall be varied accordingly. See Delaware Code Title 1 Sec. 302
• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• owner: shall include a tenant by the entirety. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 602
• Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
• Party: means the respondent, petitioner, guardian, conservator, or any other person allowed by the Court to participate in a guardianship or protective proceeding. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 39A-101
• Per stirpes: The legal means by which the children of a decedent, upon the death of an ancestor at a level above that of the decedent, receive by right of representation the share of the ancestor
• Permit: includes any building permit, license, zoning permit, certificate of occupancy, certificate of use, certificate of completion, subdivision approval and any other official action of government having the effect of permitting construction, occupancy or use. See Delaware Code Title 9 Sec. 2501
• Person: means an individual, living, deceased or unborn, ascertained or unascertained, corporation, business trust, statutory trust, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture, public corporation, government, or any governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality, or any other legal or commercial entity. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 602
• Person: means an individual, a corporation, an organization or other legal entity. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 801
• Person: means individual, corporation, statutory trust, business trust, estate, trust, partnership or association, governmental body, or any other legal entity. See Delaware Code Title 10 Sec. 4320
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• 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 Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 801
• Personal representative: includes executor, administrator, administrator with the will annexed and successor personal representatives and persons who perform substantially the same function under the law governing their status. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 1561
• Plumbing system: means the equipment, appliances, pipes, fittings, fixtures and other appurtenances in or about a building or structure for bringing in the water supply and removing liquid and water-carried waste. See Delaware Code Title 9 Sec. 2501
• Power of attorney: A written instrument which authorizes one person to act as another's agent or attorney. The power of attorney may be for a definite, specific act, or it may be general in nature. The terms of the written power of attorney may specify when it will expire. If not, the power of attorney usually expires when the person granting it dies. ^{Source: OCC}
• Probate: Proving a will
• Property: includes both real and personal property or any interest therein and means anything that may be the subject of ownership. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 801
• protected person: means an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture, public corporation, government or governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality, or any other legal or commercial entity. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 39A-101
• Protective order: means an order appointing a "guardian of the property" as that term is used in this title. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 39A-101
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• real property: is synonymous with the phrase "lands, tenements and hereditaments. See Delaware Code Title 1 Sec. 302
• Record: means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 39A-101
• Registering entity: means a person who originates or transfers a security title by registration and includes a broker maintaining security accounts for customers and a transfer agent or other person acting for or as an issuer of securities. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 801
• Reporter: Makes a record of court proceedings and prepares a transcript, and also publishes the court's opinions or decisions (in the courts of appeals).
• Reporter: means any journalist, scholar, educator, polemicist, or other individual who either:

  a. See Delaware Code Title 10 Sec. 4320

• Resident creditor: means a person domiciled in, or doing business in this State, who is, or could be, a claimant against an estate of a nonresident decedent. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 1561
• Revocable trust: A trust agreement that can be canceled, rescinded, revoked, or repealed by the grantor (person who establishes the trust).
• Right of survivorship: The ownership rights that result in the acquisition of title to property by reason of having survived other co-owners.
• Security: means a share, participation or other interest in property, in a business or in an obligation of an enterprise or other issuer and includes a certificated security, an uncertificated security and a security account. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 801
• Security account: means :

  a. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 801

• Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
• Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
• Sole ownership: The type of property ownership in which one individual holds legal title to the property and has full control of it.
• Source: means a person from whom a reporter obtained information by means of written or spoken communication or the transfer of physical objects, but does not include a person from whom a reporter obtained information by means of personal observation unaccompanied by any other form of communication and does not include a person from whom another person who is not a reporter obtained information, even if the information was ultimately obtained by a reporter. See Delaware Code Title 10 Sec. 4320
• State: means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, a federally recognized Indian tribe, or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 39A-101
• State: includes any state of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and any territory or possession subject to the legislative authority of the United States. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 801
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Statute of limitations: A law that sets the time within which parties must take action to enforce their rights.
• Structure: shall mean a man made object having an ascertainable stationary location on land or in water, whether or not affixed to the land. See Delaware Code Title 9 Sec. 2501
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Tenancy by the entirety: A type of joint tenancy between husband and wife that is recognized in some States. Neither party can sever the joint tenancy relationship; when a spouse dies, the survivor acquires full title to the property.
• Testate: To die leaving a will.
• Testator: A male person who leaves a will at death.
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• Testify: means give testimony, provide tangible evidence, submit to a deposition, or answer interrogatories. See Delaware Code Title 10 Sec. 4320
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• Trust: means :

  a. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 602

• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• Within the scope of his or her professional activities: means any situation, including a social gathering, in which the reporter obtains information for the purpose of disseminating it to the public, but does not include any situation in which the reporter intentionally conceals from the source the fact that he or she is a reporter and does not include any situation in which the reporter is an eyewitness to or participant in an act involving physical violence or property damage. See Delaware Code Title 10 Sec. 4320
• Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.