Some states have a statute, known as the Enoch Arden Doctrine, for when a spouse, believing for a certain period of time that the other spouse is dead, marries another. If the original spouse returns, the marrying spouse may get a divorce or...
family law
escheat
Escheat is the passing of an interest in land to the state when a decedent has no will, no heirs, or devisees. In the United States, escheat rights are governed by the laws of each state. Probate is usually used to determine escheat rights....
estate
An estate is the total property; real and personal, owned by an individual prior to distribution through a trust or will.
See: Estate Planning; Estates and Trusts.
[Last updated in September of 2022 by the Wex...
estate planning
Estate planning is the process by which an individual or family arranges the transfer of assets in anticipation of death. An estate plan aims to preserve the maximum amount of wealth possible for the intended beneficiaries and flexibility for...
estates and trusts
During the early 1500s in England, landowners found it advantageous to convey the legal title of their land to third parties while retaining the benefits of ownership. Because they were not the real "owners" of the land, and wealth was...
ex parte divorce
An ex parte divorce is a divorce that is granted within a jurisdiction where only one of the spouses is validly domiciled. It is valid even if one spouse never resided within the jurisdiction where the divorce was granted or subject to...
executor
An executor is someone named in a will as the person who will carry out the testator's formal wishes. Typical duties of an executor include paying outstanding taxes/debt and distributing any remaining assets among the testator’s heirs....
exemption trust
Exemption trusts (also called a bypass trust, AB trust, or a credit shelter trust) are a tool used by well-off married individuals to legally maximize their estate tax exemptions.
The strategy involves creating a trust or...
failure of issue
A failure of issue occurs when a property-holder dies but leaves behind no living children or direct descendants to inherit the property. There are two specific types:
Definite Failure of Issue: a failure of issue determined at a...family court
Family court (often referred to as domestic courts) is a court of limited jurisdiction that hears cases involving family law. For example, family courts typically hear cases involving divorce, child custody, and domestic abuse. Given that the...