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dow·er /'dau̇-ər/ n [Anglo-French, from Old French douaire, modification of Medieval Latin dotarium, from Latin dot - dos gift, dowry]: the life estate in a man's real property to which his wife is entitled upon his death under common law and some state statutes compare curtesy, elective share
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam-Webster. 1996.
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noun
allotment, allowance, appanage, award, bequest, bestowal, bestowment, dos, dotation, effects, endowment, estate, inheritance, jointure, legacy, remainder, settlement, widow's estate, widow's portion
associated concepts: consummated right of dower, curtesy, dower interest, dower right, election of dower, estate in dower, inchoate right of dower, right of dower, widow's dower
foreign phrases:
- Favorabilla in lege sunt fiscus, dos, vita, libertas. — Favorites of the law are the treasury, dower, life, and liberty
Burton's Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006
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See: dower and curtesyCategory: Real Estate & Rental Property
Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary. Gerald N. Hill, Kathleen Thompson Hill. 2009.
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n. Common law; the right of a wife to one third of the real property owned by her husband at his death, for the duration of her life.
Webster's New World Law Dictionary. Susan Ellis Wild. 2000.
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The provision that the law makes for a widow out of the lands or tenements of her husband, for her support and the nurture of her children. A species of life estate that a woman is, by law, entitled to claim on the death of her husband, in the lands and tenements of which he was seised in fee during the marriage, and which her issue, if any, might by possibility have inherited.The life estate to which every married woman is entitled on the death of her husband, intestate, or, in case she dissents from his will, one-third in value of all lands of which her husband was beneficially seized in law or in fact, at any time during coverture.
Dictionary from West's Encyclopedia of American Law. 2005.
- dower
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The provision that the law makes for a widow out of the lands or tenements of her husband, for her support and the nurture of her children. A species of life estate that a woman is, by law, entitled to claim on the death of her husband, in the lands and tenements of which he was seised in fee during the marriage, and which her issue, if any, might by possibility have inherited.The life estate to which every married woman is entitled on the death of her husband, intestate, or, in case she dissents from his will, one-third in value of all lands of which her husband was beneficially seized in law or in fact, at any time during coverture.
Short Dictionary of (mostly American) Legal Terms and Abbreviations.
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n.an old English common law right of a widow to one-third of her late husband's estate, which is still the law in a few states. In those states the surviving wife can choose either the dower rights or, if more generous, accept the terms of her husband's will in what is called a widow's election. In an obvious sexist imbalance, a surviving husband's equivalent right (called curtesy) is to the wife's entire estate, or if there are living children, to a life estate in everything.
Law dictionary. EdwART. 2013.