NALA Certified Paralegal Exam Terms And
Concepts Questions And Answers Rated
A+.
Estate administration - correct answer.The process in which a decedent's personal
representative settles the affairs of the decedent's estate (collects assets, pays debts
and taxes, and distributes the remaining assets to heirs); the process is usually
overseen by a probate court.
inter vivos trust - correct answer.A trust created by the grantor (settlor) and effective
during the grantor's lifetime—that is, a trust not established by a will.
Assault - correct answer.Any word or action intended to make another person
apprehensive or fearful of immediate physical harm, a reasonably believable threat.
Battery - correct answer.The intentional and offensive touching of another without
lawful justification.
Contributory Negligence - correct answer.A theory in tort law under which a
complaining party's own negligence contributed to his or her injuries. This type of
negligence is an absolute bar to recover in some jurisdictions.
Comparative Negligence - correct answer.A theory in tort law under which the liability
for injuries resulting from negligent acts is shared by all persons who were guilty of
negligence (including the injured party) on the basis of each person's proportionate
carelessness.
Negligence per se - correct answer.An action or failure to act in violation of a statutory
requirement.
Strict Liability - correct answer.Liability regardless of fault. In tort law, strict liability may
be imposed on a merchant who introduces into commerce a good that is so defective as
to be unreasonably dangerous.
,Contract Validity Requirements - correct answer.Agreement, Consideration,
Contractual Capacity, Legality
Agreement - correct answer.A meeting of the minds, and a requirement for a valid
contract. It involves two distinct events: an offer to form a contract and the acceptance
of that offer by the offeree.
Offer - correct answer.A promise or commitment to do or refrain from doing some
specified thing in the future.
Offeror - correct answer.The party making the offer.
Offeree - correct answer.The party to whom the offer is made.
Acceptance - correct answer.In contract law, the offeree's indication to the offeror that
the offeree agrees to be bound by the terms of the offeror's offer, or proposal to form a
contract.
Mirror Image Rule - correct answer.A common law rule that requires that the terms of
the offeree's acceptance adhere exactly to the terms of the offeror's offer for a valid
contract to be formed.
Mailbox Rule - correct answer.A rule providing that an acceptance of an offer takes
effect at the time it is communicated via the mode expressly or impliedly authorized by
the offeror, rather than at the time it is actually received by the offeror. If acceptance is
to be by mail, for example, it becomes effective the moment it is placed in the mailbox.
Consideration - correct answer.Something of value, such as money or the performance
of an action not otherwise required, that motivates the formation of a contract. Each
party must give this for the contract to be binding.
Promissory Estoppel - correct answer.A doctrine under which a promise is binding if the
promise is clear and definite, the promisee justifiably relies on the promise, the reliance
is reasonable and substantial, and justice will be better served by enforcement of the
promise.
Contractual Capacity - correct answer.The threshold mental capacity required by law
for a party who enters into a contract to be bound by that contract.
Statute of Frauds - correct answer.A state statute that requires certain types of
contracts to be in writing to be enforceable.
Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) - correct answer.Statutes adopted by all states, in
part or in whole, that contain uniform laws governing business transactions as defined in
the code.
,Rescission - correct answer.An action to undo, or terminate, a contract-to return the
contracting parties to the positions they occupied prior to the transaction.
Restitution - correct answer.An equitable remedy under which a person is restored to
her or her original position prior to loss or injury, or placed in the position that he or she
would have been in had the breach not occurred.
Reformation - correct answer.An equitable remedy granted by a court to correct , or
"reform," a written contract so that it reflects the true intentions of the parties.
Forms of Intellectual Property - correct answer.Patent, Copyright, Trademark, Trade
Secret
Patent - correct answer.A government grant that gives an inventor the exclusive right or
privilege to make, use, or sell an invention for a limited time period.
Copyright - correct answer.The exclusive right of an author (or other creator) to publish,
print, or sell an intellectual production for a statutory period of time.
Trademark - correct answer.A distinctive mark, motto, device, or emblem that a
manufacturer stamps, prints, or otherwise affixes to the goods it produces so that they
can be identified or the market and their origins made known. Once a trademark is
established (under the common l,aw or through registration), the owner is entitled to its
exclusive use.
Trade Name - correct answer.A term that is used to indicate part or all of a business's
name and that is directly related to the business's reputation and goodwill. These are
protected under the common law (and under trademark law, if the business's name is
the same as its trademark).
Trade Secret - correct answer.Information or processes that give a business an
advantage over competitors who do not know the information or processes.
Real Property - correct answer.Immovable property consisting of land and the builds
and plant life thereon. Also known as real estate.
Personal Property - correct answer.Any property that is not real property. Generally,
any property that is movable or intangible is classified as this.
Fee Simple Absolute - correct answer.Ownership rights entitling the holder to use,
possess, or dispose of the property however he or she chooses during his or her
lifetime.
Eminent Domain - correct answer.The power of a government to take land for public
use from private citizens for just compensation.
, Easement - correct answer.The right of a person to make limited use of another
person's real property without taking anything from the property.
Tenancy In Common - correct answer.A form of co-ownership of property in which each
party owns an undivided interest that passes to his or her heirs after death.
Joint Tenancy - correct answer.The joint ownership of property by two or more co-
owners in which each co-owner owns an undivided portion of the property. On the death
of one of the joint tenants, his or her interest automatically passes to the surviving joint
tenant or tenants.
Steps Involved in the Sale of Real Estate - correct answer.Buyer's purchase offer,
seller's response, purchase and sale agreement, title examination and insurance, and
closing.
Mortgage - correct answer.A written instrument giving a creditor an interest in the
debtor's property as security for a debt.
Deed - correct answer.A document by which title to property is transferred from one
party to another.
Lease - correct answer.A contractual agreement under which a property owner (the
lessor) agrees to rent their property to another (the lessee) for a specific time period.
Risk - correct answer.A prediction concerning potential loss based on known and
unknown factors.
Risk Management - correct answer.Planning that is undertaken to reduce the risk of
loss from known and unknown events. In the context of insurance, this involves
transferring certain risks from the insured to the insurance company.
Guardian ad litem - correct answer.A person appointed by the court to represent the
interests of a child or a mentally incompetent person before the court.
Property Settlement - correct answer.A division of property between spouses on the
termination of a marriage.
Marital Property - correct answer.All property acquired during the course of a marriage,
apart from inheritances and gifts made to one or the other of the spouses.
Separate Property - correct answer.Property that a spouse owned before the marriage,
plus inheritances and gifts acquired by the spouse during the marriage.
Community Property - correct answer.In certain states, all property acquired during a
marriage, except for inheritances or gifts received during the marriage by either marital
partner. Each partner has a one-half ownership interest in this type of property.
