Dowry is some form of financial or material gift given to wives or husbands depending on the culture as part of marriage. Dowry’s have been used all over the world from Europe to Africa to Asia, but they have been significantly curtailed in...
marriage
Edmunds Anti-Polygamy Act of 1882
The Edmunds Anti-Polygamy Act of 1882 (Edmunds Act) is a U.S. federal statute adopted in 1882 declaring polygamy as a felony in federal territories. The Edmunds Act suppressed different rights for people practicing polygamy and made it...
Egelhoff v. Egelhoff (2001)
A 2001 Supreme Court holding that a woman who was named as the beneficiary of her former husband's 401(k) plan was entitled to inherit the money in the plan, even though state law said that the divorce had automatically revoked her right to inherit. As...
elective share
The elective share is also known as a spousal share, statutory share, election against the will, or forced share. In the United States, statutory elective share law exists to prevent the disinheritance of a spouse. Elective share statutes...
Enoch Arden doctrine
Some states have a statute, known as the Enoch Arden Doctrine, for when a spouse, believing for a certain period of time that the other spouse is dead, marries another. If the original spouse returns, the marrying spouse may get a divorce or...
equitable distribution
Equitable distribution is a principle in divorce law governing the allocation of marital property between spouses. In states that use equitable distribution, courts try to achieve a fair allocation of property based on a list of factors or...
espousal
Espousal has two meanings; the first refers to a couple being engaged. Espousal also means to support or believe in a position, policy, theory, or set of beliefs. For example, Angelina Jolie is renowned for her espousal of global education...
estate tax
Estate tax is the taxation of property held by an individual at the time of their death and is one of the oldest and most common forms of taxation. Such a tax can take the form, among others, of estate tax (a tax levied on the estate before...
et ux.
Et ux. is an abbreviation of the Latin phrase “et uxor.” See the et uxor page for more information.
[Last updated in July of 2021 by the Wex Definitions Team]
et uxor
Et uxor is commonly abbreviated as et ux and is Latin for “and wife.” Et ux. was formerly a common abbreviation used to denote a pleading made by a husband and a wife, listing the husband by name and adding the “et ux.” wife designation....