Know the laws your rights
dower and curtesy
A surviving spouse’s right to receive a set portion of the deceased spouse’s estate — usually one-third to one-half. Dower (not to be confused with a “dowry”) refers to the portion to which a surviving wife is entitled, while curt
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effluxion of time
The normal expiration of a lease due to the passage of time, rather than due to a specific event that might cause the lease to end, such as destruction of the building.
See Topic: Landlords & Property Management Real Estate Re
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endowment insurance
Provides that an insured person who lives for the specified endowment period receives the face value of the insurance policy–that is, the amount paid at death. If the policy-holder dies sooner, the beneficiary named in the polic
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evidentiary
(1) Constituting evidence or having the quality of evidence. For example, Joan’s statement at the scene of a car wreck that one of the drivers was speeding has evidentiary value because it says something about how the accident happened.
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Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA)
A federal law that gives you rights when an error occurs on your credit card statement. You must notify the credit card company of the mistake within 60 days after it mailed the bill to you. The company must then corre
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federal court
A branch of the United States government with power derived directly from the U.S. Constitution. Federal courts decide cases involving the U.S. Constitution, federal law–for example, patents, federal taxes, labor law and federal crime
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FMLA
See Family and Medical Leave Act.
See Topic: Employee Rights Business & Human Resources
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fraudulent transfer
In a bankruptcy case, a transfer of property to another for less than the property’s value for the purpose of hiding the property from the bankruptcy trustee — for instance, when a debtor signs a car over to a relative to keep
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generation-skipping trust
A trust designed to save on estate tax. The trust principal is preserved for the trust maker’s grandchildren, with his or her children receiving only income from the trust. Because the children (the middle generation) never
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gross lease
A commercial real estate lease in which the tenant pays a fixed amount of rent per month or year, regardless of the landlord’s operating costs, such as maintenance, taxes and insurance. A gross lease closely resembles the typical residen
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