Glossary of Legal Terms

Balloon Note

A form of promissory note which commonly calls for minimum payments of principal, if any, and the payment of interest at regular intervals, but which requires a substantial payment of principal at the end of the term; the final payment, frequently representing essentially all the principal, is often called a balloon payment.

Bankrupt

The state or condition of one who is unable to pay his debts as they are, or become, due.

Bankruptcy Act

A federal law for the benefit and relief of creditors and their debtors in cases in which the latter are unable to unwilling to pay their debts.

Basic Policy

A type of automobile insurance policy that contains no liability coverage for bodily injury suffered has no coverage which provides for drastically reduced Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage.

Beneficiary

A person who is gifted property or money pursuant to a Will. A person who benefits under the terms of a Trust.

Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA)

Quasi-judicial agency within the Department of Justice which hears appeals from certain decision of the Immigration and Naturalization Service and review actions of the Commissioner of Immigration and Naturalization in deporting and excluding aliens.

Bona Fide

In good faith, without deceit or fraud; genuine.

Brief

A written statement prepared by the counsel arguing a case in court. It contains a summary of the facts of the case, the pertinent laws, and an argument of how the law applies to the facts supporting counsel’s position.

Burden of Proof

The level of proof required to prove an allegation. For example, the Burden of Proof of the prosecution in a criminal case is beyond a reasonable doubt.