Family Matters and Succession - Text 1 - legal language seminar training material

Sep 29, 2026

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Legal language training study material for a European Union judicial cooperation seminar, focusing on civil matters and succession. Provides key terms with plain English definitions, including civil matters, succession, heir, testator, lis pendens, jurisdiction, estate, intestacy law, and related concepts. Includes structured Day 1 learning tasks: role-play self-introduction and formal conversation, judge/justice discussion prompts, and vocabulary review for judiciary terminology and court procedure.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages10

Reading Time25 min

AccessFree to download

Key terms (English)

Civil matters and succession

Additional legal terminology

Material for Day 1

Task 1: introducing yourself and polite questions

Task 2: being a judge or a justice

Task 3: vocabulary review

EUROPEAN COOPERATION IN CIVIL MATTERS TEXT 1 Family Matters and Succession Author: Denisa Petriláková Prepared for the purposes of a legal language seminar (Slovak Republic, Omšenie, Judicial Academy, 23-27, January 2017) Study material is developed for the project “Training Legal Languages for Effective Functioning of Judicial Cooperation in EU”. It is produced solely for educational purposes. It has been created for the purposes of legal language training with the financial support of the Justice Programme of the European Union. 1 of 10 Key terms (English) Study online: [https://quizlet.com/_1ywubx](https://quizlet.com/_1ywubx) 1. Civil matters: the official power to make legal decisions and judgements; the territory or sphere of activity over which the legal authority of a court or other institution extends 2. Succession: the action or process of inheriting a title, office, property, etc. Synonyms: accession, inheritance of; 3. Heir: a person legally entitled to the property or rank of another on that person's death; synonyms: successor, next in line, inheritor, heir apparent, heir presumptive, heir-at-law, descendant, beneficiary, legatee.. 4. Testator: A testator is a person who has written and executed a last will and testament that is in effect at the time of his/her death. It is any "person who makes a will.” 5. Lis pendens: Latin for "a suit pending, "when an action has already been filed. 6. Jurisdiction: the official power to make legal decisions and judgements. Synonyms: authority, control, power. 7. Estate of a deceased person: After someone dies, someone (called the deceased person's 'executor' or 'administrator') must deal with their money and property (the deceased person's 'estate') . 8. Intestacy Law: Intestacy law, also referred to as the law of descent and distribution, refers to the body of law (statutory and case law) that determines who is entitled to the property from the estate under the rules of inheritance. 9. State of origin: State of origin is the state or territory from which something originates. 10. To settle out of court: resolution between disputing parties about a legal case, reached either outside court action begins 2 of 10 Material for Day 1: AIM: practice a role play introducing yourself to other people and introducing others Target: Having gone though the material you will be able to introduce both yourself and others and ask polite small talk questions: | Task 1: introducing yourself and asking polite questions:
Please practice talking to your partner: | | | --- | --- | | I don't think we have met before,… | | | I don't think we have been introduced. My name is/ I am | | | I am terribly sorry but your name seems to have slipped my mind ... | | | I am terribly sorry, I seem to recognise your face but I can't recall your name. | | | Dear Mr. President, let me introduce the Vice President of our High Court to you. | | | Mr X., I would like you to meet my colleague Mr. A. | | | | | | I hope you don't mind me asking but | | | | | | Could you possibly tell me | | | | | | I would rather not discuss this matter | | | | | | | | | I AM SORRY I AM NOT QUITE SURE I UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU MEAN | | | I AM SORRY I DIDN’T CATCH THAT | | | I AM SORRY BUT COULD YOU PLEASE EXPLAIN WHAT THAT MEANS | | | | | 3 of 10 | Material for Day 1:
AIM: Engage in formal and semi formal conversation on the topics of judiciary, law and use basic vocabulary related to substantive and procedural law.
Target: Having gone through the material you will be able to use common social conversation phrases and initiate as well as respond to social and semiprofessional conversation on the topic of the practice of law: | | | --- | --- | | | | | Task 2: being a judge or a justice: discuss with your partner in combination with indirect question phrases from Task 1:
What made you decide to become a lawyer?
Have you always wanted to sit on the bench

FAQs

What key terms are defined for the seminar’s topic of civil matters and succession?

The material defines terms such as civil matters, succession, heir, testator, lis pendens, jurisdiction, estate of a deceased person, intestacy law, and state of origin.

What is the goal of Task 1 on Day 1?

Task 1 aims to practice role-play self-introductions and polite small-talk questions with a partner, including formal introduction phrases.

What does Task 2 ask participants to do regarding judges and justices?

Task 2 asks learners to discuss with a partner using indirect-question phrases, covering topics such as becoming a lawyer, time on the bench, training, hearings, and succession matters.

Sep 29, 2026

Upload by Fahsai