Definition
Testati (also appearing as *de bonis testatoris* or in the phrase *de bonis testati*) is a Latin term meaning "of the goods of the testator." In procedural and remedial law, it refers to a judgment or writ of execution directed against the assets of a deceased person's estate — that is, against property held by the executor or administrator in their representative capacity — as distinguished from a judgment enforceable against the personal assets of the executor or administrator individually.
The term arises most commonly in the context of actions against an estate where the plaintiff has established a claim against the decedent. A judgment *de bonis testatis* authorizes the creditor to satisfy the debt from estate assets. If those assets are insufficient or have been misapplied, a further proceeding may lie against the executor or administrator personally.
Why It Matters in Research
This term is almost exclusively a term of historical pleading and procedure, rooted in English common law practice. Researchers encountering it in older American and English court records, writs, and procedural treatises should understand it as a signal that the judgment or execution in question is directed at estate property, not at the representative's own wealth.
The critical research distinction is the contrast with *de bonis propriis* — a judgment against the executor or administrator personally, typically arising from a finding of *devastavit* (waste or misapplication of estate assets). When reading early American probate litigation, execution records, or chancery proceedings, the shift from *testati* to *propriis* language in a document signals a procedural escalation: the creditor has moved from pursuing the estate to pursuing the fiduciary personally.
This term does not appear with any frequency in modern American legal materials. Its practical context — actions on judgments against executors and administrators in common law pleading — was substantially absorbed into statutory probate practice and simplified civil procedure during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Researchers working in pre-code American practice (generally pre-1938 federal, pre-Field Code state) will encounter it; researchers working in modern materials almost certainly will not.
The Black's Law Dictionary reference to Archbold's *Practice of the Court of King's Bench* reflects the English procedural origins of the term. Archbold's practice manuals were influential secondary sources in early American courts, and their terminology shaped American pleading in the formative period.
Historical Dictionary Support
Black's Law Dictionary provides the core definition concisely: "of the goods of the testator, or intestate," applied to a judgment awarding execution against estate property as distinct from the individual property of the executor or administrator. The reference to Archbold's *Practice of the Court of King's Bench* (2 Archb. Pr. K.B. 148–149) anchors the term squarely in English common law procedure.
Black's entry is brief, which accurately reflects the term's narrow technical function. It is a term of procedural art rather than substantive law — a descriptor identifying the nature and target of a remedy, not a doctrine in its own right. Historical dictionaries that expand beyond this scope risk overstating its independent significance.
Notably, Black's entry covers both testate and intestate estates under this heading, confirming that *testati* in this procedural context extended to goods of an intestate as well, though the literal Latin roots refer to a testator. This usage-over-etymology convention is common in law Latin and should not mislead researchers into limiting the term to testate estates only.
Jurisdictional Note
This term belongs to the common law procedural tradition and appears in English and early American court records. Its relevance is primarily historical; it has no recognized current statutory definition in any American jurisdiction. Researchers in English legal history should consult Archbold and similar King's Bench practice manuals directly.