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Most Popular Legal Definitions
statement of defense
A defendant's written answer or reply to a statement of claim, admitting or
denying each and every one of the facts contained in the statement of claim and
alleging such facts as the defendant wishes to assert at trial in opposition to
the plaintiff's case.
express trust
A trust which is created by the settlor, usually in the form of a document,
although it can be oral.
shared custody
A family law support or maintenance term referring to a situation where a child
spends about an equal amount of time in the care and home of each of the two
separated or divorced parents.
civil liberties
Rights or freedoms given to the people by the First Amendment of the
Constitution, by Common Law, or legislation, allowing the individual to be free
to speak, think, assemble, organize, worship, or petition without government (or
even private) interference or restraints. These liberties are protective in
nature, while civil rights form a broader concept and include positive elements
such as the right to use facilities, the right to an equal education, or the
right to participate in government.
proof in solemn form
The pronouncement by a court that a will is
formally approved and not subject to later contest, with the exception of fraud
or a later will.
utter
1) To issue a forged document. 2) to speak.
alternative pleading
legal fiction in which a party to a lawsuit or a defendant charged with a crime
can plead two ways which are inconsistent with each other; examples: a) someone
hurt in an accident can plead that the other party was negligent or ran into him
intentionally b) "not guilty" and "not guilty by reason of insanity" (in which
there is the implied admission that the defendant committed the act)
adopt
1) to take on a particular relationship of parent to child of another person by
official legal action 2) to accept or make use of, such as to adopt another
party's argument in a lawsuit
sublease
The subsequent lease of property that is itself leased; with the primary tenant
retaining an interest in the original lease.
money laundering
the process of legitimizing illegal money without paying applicable taxes