Wills - terminology

[Shona]

I'm hopeless with wills and legal documents.

What do the following mean on wills?

Deponent
Assignation
Executor Dative

[Uncle John]

These are Scottish legal terminology. Have you tried Googling for definitions? A deponent is a person who makes/swears a depostion (statement). Assignation is transfer of ownership of something from one person to another. Executor Dative is definitely a Scottish term for which I can't offer a definition.

[Shona]

Thanks, Uncle John. The inventory I'm reading makes a bit more sense now.

[Shona]

Executor dative

An executive dative administers the estate of a deceased who did not leave a valid will. The deceased is said to have died intestate.

[Uncle John]

So an Executor Dative is equivalent to the Administrator of an English intestate estate.

[Shona]

I'm not a will expert, but here is an explanation.

An executor (or executors) may be named in someone's will. If no executor is named or if there is no will, your solicitor or the sheriff clerk will arrange for the court to appoint an executor called an "executor dative". An executor dative will normally be the surviving spouse or civil partner. If there is no such person, another person entitled to inherit from the estate may be able to apply.

[Uncle John]

Makes sense when you consider the Dative case in grammar, when someone gives something to someone else. So the Court is giving the job of executor to someone.

[Shona]

Der, die, das, die.

Dem, der, dem, den.

[Janet in Yorkshire]

Originally Posted by Uncle John

Makes sense when you consider the Dative case in grammar, when someone gives something to someone else. So the Court is giving the job of executor to someone.

Dative case - TO or FOR

Jay