Latin for Lawyers

TESTAMENTUM OMNE MORTE CONSUMMATUM

ties required of wills in the state of execution. A testamentary trust is a trust created under the provisions of a will. TESTAMENTUM OMNE MORTE CONSUMMATUM A will is consummated or perfected only by death. TESTATE [L. testor , testari / to execute a will] A person who dies leaving a valid will. To die with a valid will in effect. TESTATIO MENTIS [L. testari / to bear witness, give evidence + mens , men tis / reason, intellect, the mind] A testamentary document which displays or evidences a mind capable of making rational distribution of assets at death. A last will. TESTATOR, TESTATRIX [L. testor , testari / to bear witness] The male and female forms of the word describing a person who dies leaving a valid will. TESTES PONDERANTUR, NON NUMERANTUR Witnesses are measured by their trustworthiness, not by their number. TESTIFY [L. testificor , testificari / to bear witness to, give evidence about] To bear witness to an act or deed or to events perceived by the senses or within the knowledge of the witness. To give testimony under oath in a trial or other judicial or administrative proceeding. To express a personal convic tion or belief. TESTIMONIUM CLAUSE In a document, especially a deed, that clause at the end which begins, “In wit ness whereof, etc.” and which confirms the date and fact of execution by the parties. TESTIMONY [L. testimonium / evidence, testimony] The oral or written statements of a witness in the course of a trial or proceed ing, delivered under oath. Testimony is a kind of evidence, but evidence is a broader term than testimony, encompassing all proof submitted to the jury or court. TESTIS [L. testor , testari / to act as witness] Anyone who gives evidence; a witness TESTIS DE VISU PRAEPONDERAT ALLIS The testimony of eyewitnesses trumps all other evidence.

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