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Most Popular Legal Definitions

alienation of affections

outdated term; alienation of affections was a civil wrong for which a deprived (sexually) husband could sue the party convincing the wife to leave him, but the right to sue has been abolished in almost all states

assignment

act of transferring an interest in property or some right (such as contract benefits) to another

survivor

a person who outlives another.

blackmail

the crime of threatening to reveal embarrassing, disgraceful or damaging facts (or rumors) about a person to the public, family, spouse or associates unless paid off to not carry out the threat

demurrage

term of maritime law which refers to the damages payable by a ship charterer, to the ship owner, as compensation for lost time; where a chartered ship is not returned to the owner on a specified date

petty offense

A minor crime; the punishment is usually just a small fine or short term of imprisonment.

decedent

an individual who has died

mutiny

unlawful resistance of a superior or constituted authority

words of limitation

Words in a conveyance or in a will which set the duration of an estate.

federalism

A system of government which has created, by written agreement, a central and national government to which it has distributed specified legislative powers, and called the federal 
government, and regional governments to which is distributed other specified legislative powers.