wife

A woman united to a man by marriage. See Married Woman; Husband and W 11* E.

A woman who has a husband living. Wife's equity: the equitable right of a married woman to a reasonable and adequate provision, by way of settlement or otherwise, out of her choses in action, or out of any property of hers which is under the jurisdiction of the court of chancery, for the support of herself and her children.

A woman who has a husband living. 2 As used in a will ma.v refer to the wife of the testator at the time he made his will, and not to any wife who might survive him.^ In laws providing f6r alimony and dower after a divorce has been granted, the term " wife " may be regarded as designating the person, and not the actual existing relation.* See Family; Husband; Settle, 4; Uxor; Widow. WIGaiiESWORTH'S TABLES. See Table, 4.

A woman who has a husband living and undivorced. After a man has been divorced, although for his own adultery, so that he is (according to the statute) prohibited from marrying again, he can no longer be said to have man has no wife. People v. Hovey, ti Barh. 117. A devise by a husband to liis " dear wife," not mentioning laer name, applies exclusiyely to tiie individual who answers the description at the date of the will, and not to an after-taken wife. Johnson v. Johnson, 1 Term. Ch. 621. Wife's equity. The equitable right or claim of a married woman to a reasonable and adequate provision, by way of settlement or otherwise, out of her choses iu action, or out of any property of hers brought under the jurisdiction of the court of chancery, to insure the support of herself and her children. At common law, the rights in action of the wife belonged to the husband, if he reduced them to possession during the marriage. Sometimes, however, he could not do this without the aid of chancery; and that court long ago established a practice, that, when the husband wanted the aid of chancery to enable him to get possession of his ■wife's property, or if her fortune was otherwise brought within the reach of the court, the husband should be required to do what is equitable,by making a reasonable provision out of the fund for the maintenance of her and her children. This right has been known as the wife's equity. It is, in general, limited to that part of her personal property in action which the husband cannot acquire without the assistance of a court of equity. Wild birds protection act. The Stat. 35 & 36 Vict. ch. 78, passed in 1872, for the protection of certain wild birds during the breeding season. Modey If W. WILFUL; WILFULLY. Tenns used in averring or describing an act, particularly one charged as a crime, to show that it was done with free activity of the perpetrator's will. To authorize a conviction under a penal statute prescribing a punishment for " wilfully " removing an official seal from property which has been sealed up by officers of the customs, it must appear that the defendant not only intended to remove the seal, but that he had at the time a Icnowledge of its character. One who removes such a seal, in ignorance of its character, and in the honest execution of a supposed duty in the care and transportation of the property, is not liable to punishment under the statute, for the reason that he cannot be Wilful desertion, as used in regard to divorces, signifies an intentional desertion. It does not imply malice toward the other party. Benkert v. Benkert, 32 Cal. 467. Wilfully, as used in a statute imposing on railroads a penalty for wilfully neglecting to post up a schedule of fixed fares, means designedly, as opposed to inadvertently, and does not imply malice. Fuller V. Chicago, &c. R. E. Co., 31 loma, 187. In common parlance, wilful is used in the sense of intentional, as distinguished from accidental or involuntary. But language of a statute affixing a punishment to acts done wilfully may be restricted to such acts done with an unlawful intent. State u. Clark, 29 N. J. L. 96. Wilfully is not a synonym of "unlawfully," and is essential in charging a disturbance of public worship. State v. Townsell, 3 Heisk. 6. The word wilfully, in the Vermont trespass act, is not synonymous with " volvmtarily," but implies a tort or wrong. Savage V. Tullar, Brayt. 223. The construction of the words "wilfully " and " injury," as used in Vt. acts of 1869, ch. 4, § 3, in relation to acts committed by a person in a state of intoxication, determined. Smith V. Wilcox, 47 Vt. 537. As used in penal statutes, '' wilfully " means with evil intent, or legal malice, or without reasonable ground for believing the act to be lawful. State «. Preston, 34 Wis. 67B. When the phrase "wilfully and maliciously " is not equivalent to " unlawfully and maliciously," see State v. Hussey, 60 Me. 410.