What term is a form by which a potential beneficiary gives up the right to serve as fiduciary, or to take from the estate, also known as a waiver?

• A. Renunciation
• B. Renounce
• C. Waiver
• D. Escheat

Answer: (A)

Renunciation is the formal act by which a potential beneficiary declines to serve as fiduciary or to take from the estate. In probate practice, someone who could be named executor or administrator or who stands to inherit may file a renunciation to explicitly relinquish those rights. It’s a specific legal term for making that choice, essentially a waiver of rights in this context. The verb form would be to renounce, and while waiver describes the idea in plain terms, renunciation is the precise procedural term used in this situation. Escheat, by contrast, refers to property passing to the state when there are no heirs.