power of appointment
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Noun: - Legal authority to designate beneficiaries: A power granted by one person (the donor) to another person (the donee or holder) to select who will receive certain property or assets, typically outlined in a will or legal deed.
Usage
This term is used specifically in legal and estate planning contexts to describe a fiduciary authority over the distribution of assets. - The trust document granted the trustee a power of appointment over the remaining funds. - Her will included a power of appointment, allowing her sister to decide which charities would receive the legacy.
Advanced Usage
- General vs. Special Power of Appointment: A "general" power allows appointment to anyone, including the holder themselves, while a "special" or "limited" power restricts appointment to a specific class of persons (e.g., "among my descendants").
- He held a special power of appointment that limited his choices to the donor's grandchildren.
- Testamentary Power of Appointment: A power that can only be exercised through the holder's own last will and testament.
- She exercised her testamentary power of appointment in her will, directing the assets to her niece.
Variants and Related Words
- Appointee (noun): A person who is selected to receive property under a power of appointment.
- Appoint (verb): To designate or select a beneficiary using the granted authority.
Synonyms
- Dispositive authority
- Right of designation (in a legal context)
Related Phrases
- Exercise a power of appointment: The act of using the authority to name beneficiaries.
- The holder must formally exercise the power of appointment in a written document.
- Lapse of a power of appointment: When the power is not exercised within the time or under the conditions specified.
- The assets passed to the contingent beneficiaries due to a lapse of the power of appointment.
Noun
- authority given (in a will or deed) by a donor to a donee to appoint the beneficiaries of the donor's property