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