estate
Definitions from Case Law · United States Supreme Court
Definitions from Case Law
From 59 U.S. 202 - James Abbott and Hannah His Wife v. The Essex Company Tenants · 1855Most cited · 29 citing opinions
The word 'estate,' or 'that part of my estate,' has always been construed to describe not only the land devised, but the whole interest of the testator in the subject of the devise; thus, a devise of 'my estate, consisting of thirty acres of land, situate, &c.,' will carry a fee.
How often courts cite the cases defining “estate”
Court decisions citing the 2 opinions that defined “estate” — 36 in all, by decade. Counts are citations to the defining cases as a whole, not verified uses of the term. The dip in the most recent years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the latest years.
All 2 definitions, chronological · 1828–1855
- ORIGINAL
That the word 'estate' is sufficiently comprehensive to embrace property of every description, and will charge lands with debts, if used with other words which indicate an intention to charge them, is a proposition which cannot be controverted. As little is it to be denied, that the word alone, if not used with an intent to subject the lands of the testator to the payment of his debts, cannot have that effect.
in wills, when charges lands with debts