Dower in United States

Dower Definition

(Fr. doner, to endow). The provision which the law makes for a widow out of the lands or tenements of her husband, for her support and the nurture of her children. Co. Litt. 30a; 2 Bl. Comm. 130; 4 Kent, Comm. 35; Washb. Real Prop. 146. The word dower has reference to real estate only. 86 Me. 216. It has three stages: (1) Inchoate, from marriage to the death of the husband; (2) consummate, from the death of the husband to admeasurement; and (3) assigned from the time when it is set off to the vadow. Stew. Husb. & Wife, §§ 262-264. There were five species of dower in England :
(1) Dower by custom, where a widow became entitled to a specified portion of her husband’s lands in consequence of some local or particular custom.
(2). Dower ad ostium ecclesiae, where a man of full age , on coming to the church door to be married, endowed his wife of a certain portion of his lands.
(3) Dower ex assensu patris, which differed from dower ad ostium ecclesiae only In being made out of the lands of the husband’s father, and with his consent.
(A) Dower de la plus belle, where the widow, on suing the guardian in chivalry for dower, was required by him to endow herself of the fairest portion of any lands she might hold as guardian in socage, and thus release from dower the lands of her husband held in chivalry. This was abolished along with the military tenures, of which it was a consequence. 2 Bl. Comm. 132, note.
(5) Dower bjr common law, where the widow was entitled during her life to a third part of all the lands and tenements in fee simple or fee tail of which her husband yas seised at any time during the coverture, and of which any issue she might have had might by possibility have been heir. Since the passage of the dower act in England (3 & 4 Wm. IV. c. 105), all these species of dower, except that by custom and by the common law, have ceased to exist. 2 Sharswood, ‘ Bl. Comm. 135, note. Dower in the United States, although regulated by statutes differing from each other in many respects, conforms substantially to that at the common law. 1 Washb. Real Prop. 149.

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Legal Issue for Attorneys

(Fr. doner, to endow). The provision which the law makes for a widow out of the lands or tenements of her husband, for her support and the nurture of her children. Co. Litt. 30a; 2 Bl. Comm. 130; 4 Kent, Comm. 35; Washb. Real Prop. 146. The word dower has reference to real estate only. 86 Me. 216. It has three stages: (1) Inchoate, from marriage to the death of the husband; (2) consummate, from the death of the husband to admeasurement; and (3) assigned from the time when it is set off to the vadow. Stew. Husb. & Wife, §§ 262-264. There were five species of dower in England :
(1) Dower by custom, where a widow became entitled to a specified portion of her husband’s lands in consequence of some local or particular custom.
(2). Dower ad ostium ecclesiae, where a man of full age , on coming to the church door to be married, endowed his wife of a certain portion of his lands.
(3) Dower ex assensu patris, which differed from dower ad ostium ecclesiae only In being made out of the lands of the husband’s father, and with his consent.
(A) Dower de la plus belle, where the widow, on suing the guardian in chivalry for dower, was required by him to endow herself of the fairest portion of any lands she might hold as guardian in socage, and thus release from dower the lands of her husband held in chivalry. This was abolished along with the military tenures, of which it was a consequence. 2 Bl. Comm. 132, note.
(5) Dower bjr common law, where the widow was entitled during her life to a third part of all the lands and tenements in fee simple or fee tail of which her husband yas seised at any time during the coverture, and of which any issue she might have had might by possibility have been heir. Since the passage of the dower act in England (3 & 4 Wm. IV. c. 105), all these species of dower, except that by custom and by the common law, have ceased to exist. 2 Sharswood, ‘ Bl. Comm. 135, note. Dower in the United States, although regulated by statutes differing from each other in many respects, conforms substantially to that at the common law. 1 Washb. Real Prop. 149.

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Notice

This definition of Dower Is based on the The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary . This definition needs to be proofread..

Practical Information

Note: Some of this information was last updated in 1982

An allowance the law gives a widow from the real estate of her deceased husband and for her support and the care of the children. Whether or not a widow is entitled to dower depends on the law of the state where the real estate is situated. See curtesy (in U.S. law).

(Revised by Ann De Vries)

What is Dower?

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