namestheir

Namestheir is a coined term used in discussions of succession and estate planning to denote the act of naming an heir in a will, trust, or related document. The word is a portmanteau of name and their, chosen to emphasize the explicit designation of a person who will inherit property. It is not an official legal term and has not been adopted into statutory language; rather, it appears in scholarly articles, commentary, and some software/documentation dealing with inheritance records.

In usage, namestheir is discussed as a drafting practice intended to reduce ambiguity about who is entitled to an estate, including contingencies if an named heir dies before the testator. The term also arises in critiques of generic language in wills and in proposals for standardized wording that clearly identifies beneficiaries. In genealogical databases or probate software, namestheir is sometimes used as a label for fields that record the designated heir in a document.

Examples: The draft will must clearly namestheir to avoid disputes during probate. Legal scholars note that namestheir language can interact with survivorship and per stirpes rules. In practice, drafters often substitute explicit names to minimize ambiguity.

See also: will, testament, probate, heir, beneficiary, estate planning, succession.