Word needed

[Hutch]

Quoting Elliott Moreton <moreton at cogsci.jhu.edu>:

> Hi,
> 
> I tried asking this on another list, with no success:
> If you are someone's heir, what are they to you?
> 
> "Heir" has many senses. I'm specifically interested
> in what you call a living person from whom you expect
> to inherit something (but other senses are
> interesting too).
> 
> em
> 
> 
> (P.S. Isn't a new round supposed to be under way? I
> haven't gotten anything....)

Best I was able to come up with off the top of my head is 
the relationship of legatee / legator, which is not what 
you want.

BTW, according to at least one source (Wikipedia?), it is 
traditionally improper to speak of the heir to a living 
person, since the birth of another relative might change an 
individual's inheritance. Hence, the terms "heir apparent" 
and "heir presumptive". Thus, perhaps the term you're 
looking for would be "The Corpse" or some such ;>

<http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=heir>, meaning 3; 
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: 
Fourth Edition.  2000. 
<http://www.bartleby.com/61/74/H0127400.html>, meaning 3; 
Infoplease Dictionary 
<http://www.infoplease.com/dictionary/heir>, meaning 4; the 
Compact Oxford English Dictionary 
<http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/heir?view=uk> all use 
the term "predecessor". As "One who receives or is expected 
to receive a heritage, as of ideas, from a predecessor." 
or "a person or group considered as inheriting the 
tradition, talent, etc., of a predecessor."

In particular, Merriam-Webster <http://www.m-w.com/cgi-
bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=heir>, meaning 2, 
says, "one who receives or is entitled to receive some 
endowment or quality from a parent or predecessor".

So, "predecessor" certainly comes close, especially used in 
the sense of 'the one who died before', but "predecessor"'s 
modern meaning is considerably broader than what you're 
looking for.

Infoplease Encyclopedia 
<http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/society/A0823221.html>, 
says, "No person may be the heir of a living person; the 
relationship arises only at the death of another. If the 
other person is still living, the person who may become an 
heir is called an heir apparent or heir presumptive." So, 
more and more, the 'joke' answer I tossed off earlier seems 
to be most correct.

There doesn't appear to be a specific word that means 
exactly what you want. But "heir" / "deceased" 
(or "decedent") seems to be the best choice.