Coparcenary

A species of estate, or tenancy, which exists where lands of inheritance descend from the ancestor to two or more persons. It arises in England either by common law, or particular custom. By common law, as where a person seised in fee simple or fee tail, dies, and his next heirs are two or more females, his daughters, sisters, aunts, cousins or their representatives; in this case they all inherit, and these coheirs are then called coparceners, or, for brevity, parceners only. Litt. sect.

241, 242. 2 JBL Com, 187.

By particular custom, as where lands descend, as in gavelkind, to all the males in equal degree, as sons, brothers, uncles, <fec. Id, ibid. Litt, sect.

266. Co, Litt, 163 b. 1 St^h. Com, 319. 2 Crabb's Beal Prop. 931, 932, § 2296.

It resembles, in some respects, an estate in joint tenancy, but in others they materially diflfer.

1 S^h. Com, 319.

In the United States, it is not distinguishable from tenancy in common.

4 Kent's Com, 367.

Lord Coke observes that this tenancy is called in the ancient books adcsquatio, and sometimes /amt/ta herdscunda, an estate to be divided.

Co, Litt, 164 b.

Both these terms, however, (the former in the feudal, the latter in the civil law,) seem to denote a process for dividing an estate, rather than the estate itself. See Adaquatio, Familia herciseunda,