NALA Certified Paralegal Exam Terms
and Concepts Questions & Answers
Estate administration - ANSWERSThe 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 - ANSWERSA trust created by the grantor (settlor) and effective during the grantor's
lifetime—that is, a trust not established by a will.
Assault - ANSWERSAny word or action intended to make another person apprehensive or fearful of
immediate physical harm, a reasonably believable threat.
Battery - ANSWERSThe intentional and offensive touching of another without lawful justification.
Contributory Negligence - ANSWERSA 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 - ANSWERSA 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 - ANSWERSAn action or failure to act in violation of a statutory requirement.
Strict Liability - ANSWERSLiability 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 - ANSWERSAgreement, Consideration, Contractual Capacity, Legality
,Agreement - ANSWERSA 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 - ANSWERSA promise or commitment to do or refrain from doing some specified thing in the
future.
Offeror - ANSWERSThe party making the offer.
Offeree - ANSWERSThe party to whom the offer is made.
Acceptance - ANSWERSIn 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 - ANSWERSA 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 - ANSWERSA 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 - ANSWERSSomething 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 - ANSWERSA 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 - ANSWERSThe threshold mental capacity required by law for a party who enters
into a contract to be bound by that contract.
,Statute of Frauds - ANSWERSA state statute that requires certain types of contracts to be in writing to be
enforceable.
Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) - ANSWERSStatutes adopted by all states, in part or in whole, that
contain uniform laws governing business transactions as defined in the code.
Rescission - ANSWERSAn action to undo, or terminate, a contract-to return the contracting parties to the
positions they occupied prior to the transaction.
Restitution - ANSWERSAn 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 - ANSWERSAn 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 - ANSWERSPatent, Copyright, Trademark, Trade Secret
Patent - ANSWERSA government grant that gives an inventor the exclusive right or privilege to make, use,
or sell an invention for a limited time period.
Copyright - ANSWERSThe exclusive right of an author (or other creator) to publish, print, or sell an
intellectual production for a statutory period of time.
Trademark - ANSWERSA 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 - ANSWERSA 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 - ANSWERSInformation or processes that give a business an advantage over competitors
who do not know the information or processes.
Real Property - ANSWERSImmovable property consisting of land and the builds and plant life thereon.
Also known as real estate.
Personal Property - ANSWERSAny property that is not real property. Generally, any property that is
movable or intangible is classified as this.
Fee Simple Absolute - ANSWERSOwnership rights entitling the holder to use, possess, or dispose of the
property however he or she chooses during his or her lifetime.
Eminent Domain - ANSWERSThe power of a government to take land for public use from private citizens
for just compensation.
Easement - ANSWERSThe right of a person to make limited use of another person's real property without
taking anything from the property.
Tenancy In Common - ANSWERSA 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 - ANSWERSThe 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 - ANSWERSBuyer's purchase offer, seller's response, purchase
and sale agreement, title examination and insurance, and closing.
Mortgage - ANSWERSA written instrument giving a creditor an interest in the debtor's property as
security for a debt.
Deed - ANSWERSA document by which title to property is transferred from one party to another.
