Curtesy and dower

Definition

Curtesy and dower in plain English

Long ago, the law worried about what a widow or widower would live on after their spouse died, so it automatically handed the survivor a guaranteed slice of the dead spouse's land to use for the rest of their life. That automatic slice was called 'dower' when the wife survived and 'curtesy' when the husband survived — same idea, two names based on gender. Think of it like an old safety net that kicked in without anyone signing anything. Almost every state has scrapped these gendered rules and replaced them with a modern, gender-neutral version (an 'elective share') that lets a surviving spouse claim a fixed portion of the estate no matter what the will says.

Related National Real Estate Exam terms

• Abstract of title
• Acceleration clause
• Accretion
• Accrued depreciation
• Adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM)
• Ad valorem tax
• Adverse possession
• Agency
• Alienation
• Amortization