Abandon refers to the act of abandonment. A party can “abandon” in multiple fields of law and abandoning generally, though not always, involves voluntarily giving up a right.
See abandonment for more information.
[Last reviewed in June of 2022 by the Wex Definitions Team]
An “abandoned application” refers to the abandonment of a patent or trademark application. An application is removed from the docket of pending applications at the U.S.
Abandoned property is personal property that was left by an owner who intentionally relinquishes all rights to its control. Real property may not be abandoned (see also adverse possession).
Abandonment is a term that generally refers to a voluntary parting or the discarding of an object with no intent to return or reclaim the item. However, it varies in application across different areas of the law.
Abatement is the act of reducing or nullifying something. Multiple subjects throughout law are subject to abatement and the term appears in many locations.
An abeyance is a temporary suspension of activity while awaiting the resolution of some other proceeding without which the activity in abeyance cannot continue.
Absolute is used commonly in property law and in divorce law meaning final or without limitations.
An abstracter is someone who collects or researches information or summarizes such information in order to maintain data or records.
See also: Abstract, Abstract of Title
[Last reviewed in February of 2022 by the Wex Definitions Team]
