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cur·te·sy /'kər-tə-sē/ n pl -sies [Anglo-French curteisie, literally, favor, courtesy, originally in the phrase par la corteysie de Engleterre (tenancy) by courtesy of (the law of) England (as opposed to natural right)]: a husband's interest at common law in a life estate upon the death of his wife in the real property that she either solely owned or inherited provided that they bore a child capable of inheriting the property compare dower, elective share
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam-Webster. 1996.
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n.A common-law right of a husband to take a life estate in all of his wife’s lands if she dies before him, usually only applicable if they had children together; curtesy has been abolished or modified in most states. See also dower
The Essential Law Dictionary. — Sphinx Publishing, An imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. Amy Hackney Blackwell. 2008.
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See: dower and curtesyCategory: Wills, Trusts & Estates
Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary. Gerald N. Hill, Kathleen Thompson Hill. 2009.
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n. Under the common law, a husband's entitlement to a life estate in all the land that his wife possessed at her death in either fee simple or fee tail, provided the couple had a living child who was capable of inheriting his or her mother's estate. This right has been abolished in most states.See also dower.@ curtesy consummateThe name of a husband's right of curtesy after his wife's death.@ curtesy initiateThe name of a husband's right of curtesy before his wife's death, once the right is created upon the birth of the couple's first child.@
Webster's New World Law Dictionary. Susan Ellis Wild. 2000.
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An estate to which a man is entitled by common-law right on the death of his wife, in all the lands that his wife owned at any time during their marriage, provided a child is born of the marriage who could inherit the land.
Dictionary from West's Encyclopedia of American Law. 2005.
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An estate to which a man is entitled by common-law right on the death of his wife, in all the lands that his wife owned at any time during their marriage, provided a child is born of the marriage who could inherit the land.
Short Dictionary of (mostly American) Legal Terms and Abbreviations.
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n.in old common law, the right of a surviving husband to a life estate in the lands of his deceased wife, if they had a surviv- ing child or children who would inherit the land. A few states still recognize this charming anachro- nism.
Law dictionary. EdwART. 2013.