NALA Certified Paralegal Exam Terms And Concepts
Questions And Answers
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. ANS Estate administration
A trust created by the grantor (settlor) and effective during the grantor's lifetime—that is, a trust not established by a
will. ANS inter vivos trust
Any word or action intended to make another person apprehensive or fearful of immediate physical harm, a
reasonably believable threat. ANS Assault
The intentional and offensive touching of another without lawful justification. ANS Battery
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. ANS Contributory Negligence
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. ANS
Comparative Negligence
An action or failure to act in violation of a statutory requirement. ANS Negligence per se
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. ANS Strict Liability
Agreement, Consideration, Contractual Capacity, Legality ANS Contract Validity Requirements
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. ANS Agreement
A promise or commitment to do or refrain from doing some specified thing in the future. ANS Offer
,The party making the offer. ANS Offeror
The party to whom the offer is made. ANS Offeree
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. ANS Acceptance
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. ANS Mirror Image Rule
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. ANS Mailbox Rule
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. ANS Consideration
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.
ANS Promissory Estoppel
The threshold mental capacity required by law for a party who enters into a contract to be bound by that contract.
ANS Contractual Capacity
A state statute that requires certain types of contracts to be in writing to be enforceable. ANS Statute of Frauds
Statutes adopted by all states, in part or in whole, that contain uniform laws governing business transactions as
defined in the code. ANS Uniform Commercial Code (UCC)
An action to undo, or terminate, a contract-to return the contracting parties to the positions they occupied prior to the
transaction. ANS Rescission
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. ANS Restitution
,An equitable remedy granted by a court to correct , or "reform," a written contract so that it reflects the true
intentions of the parties. ANS Reformation
Patent, Copyright, Trademark, Trade Secret ANS Forms of Intellectual Property
A government grant that gives an inventor the exclusive right or privilege to make, use, or sell an invention for a
limited time period. ANS Patent
The exclusive right of an author (or other creator) to publish, print, or sell an intellectual production for a statutory
period of time. ANS Copyright
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. ANS Trademark
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). ANS Trade Name
Information or processes that give a business an advantage over competitors who do not know the information or
processes. ANS Trade Secret
Immovable property consisting of land and the builds and plant life thereon. Also known as real estate. ANS
Real Property
Any property that is not real property. Generally, any property that is movable or intangible is classified as this. ANS
Personal Property
Ownership rights entitling the holder to use, possess, or dispose of the property however he or she chooses during
his or her lifetime. ANS Fee Simple Absolute
The power of a government to take land for public use from private citizens for just compensation. ANS
Eminent Domain
The right of a person to make limited use of another person's real property without taking anything from the
property. ANS Easement
, A form of co-ownership of property in which each party owns an undivided interest that passes to his or her heirs
after death. ANS Tenancy In Common
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. ANS Joint Tenancy
Buyer's purchase offer, seller's response, purchase and sale agreement, title examination and insurance, and closing.
ANS Steps Involved in the Sale of Real Estate
A written instrument giving a creditor an interest in the debtor's property as security for a debt. ANS Mortgage
A document by which title to property is transferred from one party to another. ANS Deed
A contractual agreement under which a property owner (the lessor) agrees to rent their property to another (the
lessee) for a specific time period. ANS Lease
A prediction concerning potential loss based on known and unknown factors. ANS Risk
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. ANS Risk Management
A person appointed by the court to represent the interests of a child or a mentally incompetent person before the
court. ANS Guardian ad litem
A division of property between spouses on the termination of a marriage. ANS Property Settlement
All property acquired during the course of a marriage, apart from inheritances and gifts made to one or the other of
the spouses. ANS Marital Property
Property that a spouse owned before the marriage, plus inheritances and gifts acquired by the spouse during the
marriage. ANS Separate Property
