Curtesy

Curtesy
Curtesy refers to a husband's common law right to a life estate in all lands owned by his deceased wife, provided there were issue born of the marriage who are capable of inheriting the estate.
Dower
Dower is a statutory provision in a common-law state that directs a certain portion of a deceased individual's estate (often one-third) to the surviving spouse. The term 'curtesy' is used if the surviving spouse is the husband.

Accounting Terms Lexicon

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