Legal Term: DOWRESS

Definition: A woman entitled to dower. 2. In order to entitle a woman to the rights of a dowress at common law, she must have been lawfully married, her hushand must be dead, he must have been seised, during the coverture, of an estate subject to dower. Although the marriage may be void able, if it is not absolutely void at his death, it is sufficient to support the rights of the dowress. The hushand and wife must have been of sufficient age to consent. 3. At common law an alien could not be endowed, but this rule has been changed in several states. 2 John. Cas. 29, 1 Harr. & Gill, 280., 1 Cowen, R. 89, 8 Cowen, R. 713. 4. The dowress right may be defeated when her hushand was not of right seised of an estate of inheritance, as, for example, dower will be defeated upon the restoration of the seisin under the prior title in the case of defeasible estates, as in case of reentry for a condition broken, which abolishes the intermediate seisin. Perk. s. 311, 312, 317.

Return to the Legalnut.com Law Dictionary