Glossary

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

• Family and divorce: Although divorce may end the marital relationship, families endure. Divorce doesn’t need to end your ability to be good co-parents or even friends. The old model of scorched-earth litigation is quickly becoming a thing of the past as more and more people realize the collateral damage that a high conflict divorce causes for children, relatives, friends, and for the individuals involved.
  
  
• Family law: area of law that deals with separation, divorce, child custody, adoption and division of marital assets
  
  
• Family law case: a case filed within the family law court
  
  
• Family law mediation: a form of conflict resolution as it relates to family law issues
  
  
• Family law mediation practices: a mediation practice whose sole focuses are family law issues
  
  
• Family Pot Trust: A pot trust is often used by parents with younger children. This type of trust allows the family money be kept together, so that it can be used on any child as required. The trustee named in the trust decided how much money shall be spent on each child. Therefore, if one child needs braces and the other child wants to go to private college, the trustee has discretion over the property to provide.
  
  
• Federal Gift Tax: You can give away a total of $1million during your lifetime without paying gift taxes. The federal government imposes a tax on substantial gifts made during life. This tax is imposed on the giver of the gift, and not the recipient.
  
  
• Federal Personal Estate Tax Exemption: If your estate is worth more than the amount of the personal estate tax exemption for the year of your death, your estate will owe taxes unless other exemptions or deductions apply.
  
  
• Final beneficiaries: the people or institutions named to receive the remaining principal upon the death of a life beneficiary.
  
  
• Funding a trust: transferring assets into a trust, by changing the title of the assets to list the owner as the trust, in the name of the trustee or trustees.
  
  
• Future interest: right to property which cannot be enforced at the present time, but which shall be enforceable in the future.