自強街87號

首先要謝謝   伯母從日本帶回來的紀念品，好好吃喔。今後請把我愛吃的東西，有系統地記錄起來、作成筆記，下次你出國時要記得隨身帶著。
以下為英美繼承法的常用字彙，對於前陣子才剛複習完全套身分法的你來說，可說是相當眼熟吧？
所幸這些複雜的法律概念，你修完就可以放下了；加油！請為心中的那幅畫面而奮鬥吧！
129. descent = 法定繼承
130. heir = 繼承人
131. inheritance = 繼承財產
Descent is inheritance, and inheritance is the practice of passing on property, titles, debts, rights and obligations upon the death of an individual. It has long played an important role in human societies. The rules of inheritance differ between societies and have changed over time.
In law, an heir is a person who is entitled to receive a share of the decedent's property, subject to the rules of inheritance in the jurisdiction where the decedent died or owned property at the time of death. In politics members of ruling noble houses may be heirs of a living person, called heirs apparent. In law, however, a person does not become an heir before the death of the decedent, since the exact identity of the persons entitled to inherit is determined only then. There is a further concept of jointly inheriting, pending renunciation by all but one, which is called coparceny.
In modern law, the terms inheritance and heir refer exclusively to the succession of property from a desceased decedent intestate. Future recipients of property through a will are termed beneficiaries, devisees, or legatees.
132. dower = 寡婦產
Dower (Latin: dotarium, donatio propter nuptias, Byzantine: hypobolon; French: douaire, Dutch: weduwgift, German: Wittum) is a provision accorded by law, but traditionally by a husband or his family, to a wife for her support in the event that she should survive her husband (i.e., become a widow). It was settled on the bride by agreement at the time of the wedding, or provided by law. ("Settled" here refers to a gift into trust.)
In popular usage, the term dower may be confused with:
A dowager is a widow (who may receive her dower). The term is especially used of a noble or royal widow who no longer occupies the position she held during the marriage. For example, Queen Elizabeth was technically the dowager queen after the death of George VI (though she was referred to by the more informal title "Queen Mother"), and Princess Lilian is currently the Dowager Duchess of Halland in heraldic parlance. Such a dowager will receive the income from her dower property. (The term "Empress Dowager", in Chinese history, has a different meaning.)
Property brought to the marriage by the bride is called a dowry. But the word dower has been used since Chaucer (The Clerk's Tale) in the sense of dowry, and is recognized as a definition of dower in the Oxford English Dictionary.
Property made over to the bride's family at the time of the wedding is a bride price. This property does not pass to the bride herself.
133. administrator = 遺產管理人
134. will = 遺囑
135. testamenatry capacity = 遺囑能力
In the common law tradition, testamentary capacity is the legal term of art used to describe a person's legal and mental ability to make or alter a valid will. This concept has also been called sound mind and memory or disposing mind and memory.
Presumption of capacity (能力推定)
Adults are presumed to have the ability to make a will. Litigation about testamentary capacity typically revolves around charges that the testator, by virtue of senility, dementia, insanity, or other unsoundness of mind, lacked the mental capacity to make a will. In essence, the doctrine requires those who would challenge a validly executed will to demonstrate that the testator did not know the consequence of his conduct when he executed the will. Certain people, such as minors, are usually deemed to be conclusively incapable of making a will by the common law; however, minors who serve in the military are conceded the right to make a will by statute in many jurisdictions. In South Africa, however, one acquires testamentary capacity at the age of 16 years.
136. probate = 遺囑認證
Receipt of probate is the first step in the legal process of administering the estate of a deceased person, resolving all claims and distributing the deceased person's property under a will. A probate court (surrogate court) decides the legal validity of a testator's will and grants its approval (which word derives also from the Latin probo, probare) by granting probate to the executor. The probated will becomes a legal document which may be enforced by the executor, in the law-courts if necessary. A probate also officially appoints the executor (or personal representative), generally named in the will, as having legal power to dispose of the testator's assets in the manner specified in the will.
137. codicil = 遺囑附錄
A codicil is a document that amends, rather than replaces, a previously executed will. Amendments made by a codicil may add or revoke small provisions (e.g., changing executors), or may completely change the majority, or all, of the gifts under the will. Each codicil must conform to the same legal requirements as the original will, such as the signatures of the testator and, typically, two or three (depending on the jurisdiction) disinterested witnesses.
138. bequest = 遺贈
A bequest is the act of giving (not the act of receiving) property by will. Strictly, "bequest" is used of personal property, and "devise" of real property. In legal terminology, "bequeath" is a verb form meaning "to make a bequest."
139. testamentary trust = 遺囑信託
A testamentary trust (sometimes referred to as a will trust) is a trust which arises upon the death of the testator, and which is specified in his or her will (testamentary trust literally means a trust in a will). A will may contain more than one testamentary trust, and may address all or any portion of the estate.
Testamentary trusts are distinguished from inter vivos trusts, which are created during the settlor's lifetime.
There are four parties involved in a testamentary trust:
the person who specifies that the trust be created, usually as a part of his or her will, but it may be set up in abeyance during the person's lifetime. This person may be called the grantor or trustor, but is usually referred to as the settlor;
the trustee, whose duty is to carry out the terms of the will. He or she may be named in the will, or may be appointed by the probate court which handles the will; the beneficiary(s), who will receive the benefits of the trust; Although not a party to the trust itself, the probate court is a necessary component of the trust's activity. It oversees the trustee's handling of the trust.
A testamentary trust is a legal entity created as specified in a person's will, and is occasioned by the death of that person. It is created to address any estate accumulated during that person's lifetime or generated as a result of the death itself, such as a settlement in a wrongful-death suit, or the proceeds from a life insurance policy held on the settlor. A trust can be created to oversee such assets. A trustee is appointed to direct the trust until a set time when the trust expires, such as when minor beneficiaries reach a specified age or accomplish a deed such as completing a set educational goal or achieving a specified matrimonial status.
For a testamentary trust, as the settlor is deceased, he or she will generally not have any influence over the trustee's exercise of discretion, although in some jurisdictions it is common for the testator to leave a letter of wishes for the trustee.
In practical terms, testamentary trusts tend to be driven more by the needs of the beneficiaries (particularly infant beneficiaries) than by tax considerations, which are the usual considerations in inter vivos trusts.
If a testamentary trust fails, the property will usually be held on resulting trusts for the testator's residuary estate. Many famous English trust law cases were on behalf of the residuary legatees under a will seeking to have testamentary trusts declared void so as to inherit the trust property (the most famous, or infamous, example of which is probably Re Diplock [1941] Ch 253, which resulted in the suicide of one of the trustees who was personally liable to account for trust funds that had been disbursed for what he thought were perfectly valid charitable trusts).
140. inter vivos trust = 生前信託
Inter vivos (Latin, between the living) is a legal term referring to a transfer or gift made during one's lifetime, as opposed to a testamentary transfer (a gift that takes effect on death).
The term is often used to describe a trust established during one's lifetime, i.e., an Inter vivos trust as opposed to a Testamentary trust which is established on one's death, usually as part of a will. An Inter vivos trust is often used synonymously with the more common term Living trust, but an Inter vivos trust, by definition, includes both revocable and irrevocable trust.
The term inter vivos is also used to describe living organ donation, in which one patient donates an organ to another while both are alive. Generally, the organs transplanted are either non-vital organs (corneas) or paired vital organs where the loss of one or a part of one will not cause harm (a kidney, a part of a liver, a lobe of a lung).
141. executor (executrix) = 遺囑執行人
142. intestacy = 死亡無遺囑
Intestacy is the condition of the estate of a person who dies owning property greater than the sum of their enforceable debts and funeral expenses without having made a valid will or other binding declaration. Alternatively this may also apply where a will or declaration has been made, but only applies to part of the estate, the remaining estate forms the "Intestate Estate."
Intestacy law, also referred to as "the law of descent and distribution" or "intestate succession statutes", refers to the body of law that determines who is entitled to the property from the estate under the rules of inheritance.
143. estate tax (inheritance tax) = 遺產稅
The estate tax in the United States is a tax imposed on the transfer of the "taxable estate" of a deceased person, whether such property is transferred via a will, according to the state laws of intestacy or otherwise made as an incident of the death of the owner, such as a transfer of property from an intestate estate or trust, or the payment of certain life insurance benefits or financial account sums to beneficiaries. The estate tax is one part of the Unified Gift and Estate Tax system in the United States. The other part of the system, the gift tax, imposes a tax on transfers of property during a person's life; the gift tax prevents avoidance of the estate tax should a person want to give away his/her estate.
In addition to the federal government, many states also impose an estate tax, with the state version called either an estate tax or an inheritance tax. Since the 1990s, opponents of the tax have used the pejorative term "death tax". The equivalent tax in the United Kingdom has always been referred to as "inheritance tax". If an asset is left to a spouse or a (Federally recognized) charitable organization, the tax usually does not apply. For deaths occurring in 2011, up to $5,000,000 can be passed from an individual upon his or her death without incurring federal estate tax.

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