ESTATE IN COPARCENA- | sometimes called waste or wild lands; RY, is an estate of lands of inherit- 1 Pet. 505; 3, issue; and 4, death ance which descend from the ances- of the wife. tor to two or more persons who are called coparceners or parceners. This is usually applied, in England, to cases where lands descend to females, when there are no male heirs. As in the several states, estates generally descend to all the children equally, there is no substantial difference between coparceners and tenants in common. The title inherited by more persons than one, is, in some of the states, expressly declared to be a tenancy in common, as in New York and New Jersey, and where it is not so declared the effect is the same; the technical distinction between coparcenary and estates in common may be considered as essentially extinguished in the United States. 4 Kent, Com. 363. Vide Estates.

ESTATE BY THE CURTESY, is an estate for life, created by act of law, which is defined as follows. When a man marries a woman, seised at any time during the coverture of the estate of inheritance, in severalty, in coparcenary, or in common, and has issue by her born alive, and which might by possibility inherit the same estate as heir to the wife, and the wife dies in the life-time of the husband, he holds the lands during his life by the curtesy of England, and it is immaterial whether the issue be living at the time of the seisin, or at the death of the wife, or whether it was born before or after the seisin. Litt. s. 35; Co. Litt. 29, b; 8 Co. 34. There are four requisites indispensably necessary to the existence of this estate; 1, marriage; 2, seisin of the wife, which must have been seisin in deed, and not merely seisin in law; it seems, however, that the rigid rules of the common law, have been relaxed, in this respect, as to what is

This estate is generally prevalent in the United States; in some of them it has received a modification. In Vermont, the title by curtesy has been laid under the equitable restriction of existing only in the event that the children of the wife entitled to inherit, died within age and without children. In South Carolina, tenancy by the curtesy, eo nomine, has ceased by the provisions of an act passed in 1791, relative to the distribution of intestates' estates, which gives to the husband surviving his wife, the same share of her real estate, as she would have taken out of his, if left a widow, and that is one moiety, or one-third of it in fee, according to circumstances. In Georgia, tenancy by the curtesy does not exist, because since 1785, all marriages vest the real, equally with the personal, estate in the husband. 4 Kent, Com. 29. In Louisiana, where the common law has not been adopted in this respect, this estate is unknown.

This estate is not peculiar to the English law, as Littleton erroneously supposes; Litt. s. 35; for it is to be found, with some modifications, in the ancient laws of Scotland, Ireland, Normandy and Germany. In France there were several customs, which gave a somewhat similar estate to the surviving husband, out of the wife's inheritances. Merlin, Répert. mots Linotte, et Quarte de Conjoint pauvre.

Vide, generally, Bac. Ab. Curtesy of England; Bac. Ab. h. t.; Com. Dig. Estates by grant, D; Cruise, Dig. t. 5, c. 1; 2 Bl. Com. 126.

ESTATE IN DOWER, is the right of a woman in a third part of all the lands and tenements, in fee simple, fee tail, general, or as heir in special tail, of which her deceased husband was seised, either in deed or

in law, at any time during the cover- | not result from the operation of law. ture, and of which any issue she Thus an estate given to a number of might have had, might by possibility have been heir. Litt. 36. To create a title to dower, three things are indispensably requisite, 1. Marriage. This must be a marriage not absolutely void, and existing at the death of the husband; a wife de facto, whose marriage is voidable by decree, as well as a wife de jure, is entitled to it; and the wife shall be endowed, though the marriage be within the age of consent, and the husband dies within that age. Co. Litt. 33, a; 7 Co. 42; Doct. & Stud. 22; Cruise, Dig. t. 6, c. 2, s. 2, et seq.-2. Seisin. The husband must have been seised, some time during the coverture of the estate of which the wife is dowable. Co. Litt. 31, a. An actual seisin is not indispensable, a seisin in law is sufficient. As to the effect of a transitory seisin, see 4 Kent, Com. 38; 2 Bl. Com. 132; Co. Litt. 31, a.-3. Death of the husband. This must be a natural death; though there are authorities which declare that a civil death shall have the same effect. Cruise, Dig. tit. 6, ch. 2, §

22.

Vide, generally, 8 Vin. Ab. 210; Bac. Ab. Dower; Com. Dig. Dower; Ib. App. tit. Dower; 1 Supp. to Ves. Jr. 173, 189; 2 Ib. 49; 1 Vern. R. by Raithby, 218, n. 358, n; 1 Salk. R. 291; 2 Ves. jr. 572; 5 Ves. 130; Arch. Civ. Pl. 469; 2 Sell. Pr. 200; 4 Kent, Com. 35; Amer. Dig. h..; Pothier, Traité du Douaire; 1 Swift's Dig. 85; Perk. 300, et seq.

ESTATE IN JOINT-TENANCY, is where the lands or tenements are granted to two or more persons, to hold in fee simple, fee tail, for life, for years, or at will. 2 Bl. Com. 179; the creation of the estate depends upon the expression in the deed or devise, by which the tenants hold, for it must be created by the acts of the parties, and does

persons, without any restriction or explanation, will be construed a jointtenancy; for every part of the grant can take effect only, by considering the estate equal in all, and the union of their names gives them a name in every respect. The properties of this estate arise from its unities; these are, 1. Unity of title; the estate must have been created and derived from one and the same conveyance. 2. There must be a unity of time; the estate must be created and vested at the same period. 3. There must be a unity of interest, the estate must be for the same duration and for the same quantity of interest. 4. There must be a unity of possession; all the tenants must possess and enjoy at the same time, for each must have an entire possession of every parcel, as of the whole. One has not possession of one-half, and another of the other half, but each has an undivided moiety of the whole, and not the whole of an undivided moiety. The distinguishing incident of this estate, is the right of survivorship, or jus accrescendi; at common law, the entire tenancy or estate, upon the death of any of the joint-tenants, went to the survivors, and so on to the last survivor, who took an estate of inheritance. The right of survi vorship, except perhaps in estates held in trust, is abolished in Pennsylvania, New York, Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, Missouri, Tennessee, North and South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama. Griffith's Register, h. t. In Connecticut it never was recognised. 1 Root, Rep. 48; 1 Swift's Digest, 102. Joint tenancy may be destroyed by destroying any of its constituent unities except that of time. 4 Kent, Com. 359. Vide Cruise, Dig. tit. 18; 1 Swift's Dig. 102; 14 Vin. Ab. 470; Bac. Ab. Joint tenants, &c.; 3 Saund. 319, n. 4;

1 Vern. 353; Com. Dig. Estates by Grant, K 1; 4 Kent, Com. 353; 2 Bl. Com. 181; 1 Litt. sec. 304; 2 Woodd. Lect. 127; 2 Preston on Abst. 67; 5 Binn. Rep. 18. Jointtenant; Survivor.

| will be an estate for life, for as the profits are uncertain, and may rise or fall, no precise time can be fixed for the determination of the estate. On the contrary, where the time is fixed, although it may extend far beyond ESTATE FOR LIFE. An estate any life, as a term for five hundred for life is a freehold interest in lands, years, this does not create a life the duration of which is confined to estate.-2. The estates for life created the life or lives of some particular by operation of law, are, 1st. Estates person or persons, or to the happen- tail after possibility of issue extinct; ing or not happening of some uncer- 2d. Estate by the curtesy; 3d. Dower; tain event. Estates for life are divid-4th. Jointure. Vide Cruise, Dig. tit. ed into conventional or legal estates. 3; 4 Kent, Com. 23; 1 Brown's The first created by the act of the Civ. Law, 191; 2 Bl. Com. 103. parties, and the second by operation The estate for life is somewhat simiof law. 1. Life estates may be lar to the usufruct (q. v.) of the civil created by express words, as, if A law. conveys land to B, for the term of his natural life; or they may arise by construction of law, as, if A conveys land to B, without specifying the term or duration, and without words of limitation. In the last case, B cannot have an estate in fee, according to the English law, and according to the law of those parts of the United States which have adopted and not altered the common law in this particular, but he will take the largest estate which can possibly arise from the grant, and that is an estate for life. Co. Litt. 42, a. The life estate may be either for a man's own life, or for the life of another person, and in this last case, it is termed an estate pur autre vie. There are some estates for life, which may depend upon future contingencies, before the deaths of the persons to whom they are granted; for example, an estate given to a woman dum sola fuerit, or durante viduitate, or to a man and woman during coverture, or as long as the grantee shall dwell in a particular house, is determinable upon the happening of the event. In the same manner, a house usually worth one hundred dollars a year, may be granted to a person till he shall have received one thousand dollars, this

The incidents to an estate for life are principally the following:-1. Every tenant for life, unless restrained by covenant or agreement, may of common right take upon the land demised to him reasonable estovers or botes. Co. Litt. 41.-2. The tenant for life, or his representatives, shall not be prejudiced by any sudden determination of his estate, because such determination is contingent or uncertain. Co. Litt. 55.-3. Under. tenants or lessees of an estate for life, have the same, and even greater indulgences than the lessors, the ori. ginal tenants for life; first, the same; for the law of estovers and emblements with regard to the tenant for life, is also law with regard to his under-tenants; secondly, greater; for when the tenant for life shall not have the emblements, because the estate determines by his own act, the exception shall not reach his lessee, who is a third person. 1 Roll. Ab. 727; 2 Bl. Com. 122.

ESTATE AT SUFFRANCE. It is the right of a tenant who comes into possession of land by lawful title, but holds over by wrong after the determination of his interest. Co. Litt. 57, b. He has a bare naked possession, but no estate which he