Riparian refers to land adjoining a bank of a river or stream. See riparian rights.
[Last updated in December of 2020 by the Wex Definitions Team]
land use & zoning law
riparian doctrine
Riparian doctrine refers to the doctrine in property law that deals mainly with a body of water bordering a piece of land. The doctrine of riparian rights claims that the legal water right belongs to the landowner if the water flows within...
riparian rights
Riparian rights are the rights of a riparian landowner to certain uses of the river or stream adjoining their property. In a 2018 Wisconsin Supreme Court case, Movrich v. Lobermeier, the Court, citing influential treatises and case precedent,...
servient estate
Servient estate is a parcel of land that is subject to an easement and benefits another parcel of land. An easement is a privilege or right that the owner of one parcel of real property (called a dominant estate or dominant tenement) has...
setback
Setback means the areas, measured from the property line to any structure, within which building is prohibited, but which may include driveway areas or other similar surface improvements. In other words, it is the distance a building must be...
spot zoning
Spot zoning refers to when a piece of property or groups of property have special zoning laws applied to them that differ from the zoning laws surrounding them. The practice of spot zoning can be very controversial and may be illegal. Some...
structure
In a non-legal context, a structure is an artificial construction built over a piece of land, like a shed, a house, or a building.
In a legal context, structure refers to the deliberate organization of legal elements, such...
summary probate
Summary probate is a simplified probate proceeding to administer the distribution of certain estates. Most states have provisions for summary probate proceedings. Generally, estates under a certain dollar amount and without a personal...
take
Take means to gain or obtain possession. Some common uses of the term “take” in a legal sense include:
In the context of property, it means getting the title to real property. In the context of criminal law, stealing is an unlawful...taking
The power of the government through the use of eminent domain, to take private property and convert it into public use, is referred to as a taking. The Fifth Amendment provides that the government may only exercise this power if they provide...