states are adapting the Uniform Trust Code to codify and harmonize their trust laws, but state-specific variations still remain

The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with the United States and English-speaking world and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject

The term is often described as having originated in Renaissance Italy, where there allegedly existed the tradition of smashing a banker's bench if he defaulted on payment

a will is "proved" in a court of law and accepted as a valid public document that is the true last testament of the deceased; or whereby, in the absence of a legal will, the estate is settled according to the laws of intestacy that apply in the jurisdiction where the deceased resided at the time of their death

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Assets left to any other heir, including the decedent's children, may be taxed if that portion of the estate has a value in excess of the lifetime gift, estate, and generation-skipping transfer tax exemption amount

A filing is required if the gross estate of the decedent, increased by the decedent’s adjusted taxable gifts and specific gift tax exemption, is valued at more than the filing threshold for the year of the decedent’s death, as shown in the table below