The four legal life estates are those of coverture, curtesy, dower, and homestead. All [of these estates arise by operation of law independent of contract. The first three of these have already been discussed under the subject of Domestic Relations.11

The estate of coverture is now abolished in nearly all the states. The estate of curtesy still exists in some of the states but has been abolished in others. Where the estate of curtesy has been abolished the husband has generally been given the same rights of dower as the wife. Curtesy and dower are now almost entirely regulated by statute. Questions as to these estates are determined according to the laws of the place where the land is situated.

A few extracts from Coke's Commentaries on the subject of curtesy and dower are here inserted:

"Tenant by the curtesy of England (in Latin, per legem Angliae), is where a man taketh a wife seised in fee-simple, or in fee-tail general, or seised as heir in tail special, and hath issue by the same wife, male or female, born alive, albeit, the issue after dieth or liveth, yet if the wife dies, the husband shall hold the land during his life by the law of England. And he is called tenant by the curtesy of England, because this is used in no other realm but in England only."

11 See Volume IV, Subject 10.

"Tenant in dower (tenens in dote) is, where a man is seised of certain lands or tenements in fee-simple, fee-tail general, or as heir in special tail, and taketh a wife and dieth; the wife, after the decease of her husband, shall be endowed of the third part of such lands and tenements as were her husband's at any time during the coverture; to have and to hold to the same wife in severalty by metes and bounds for term of her life, whether she hath issue by her husband or no, and of what age soever the wife be, so as she be past the age of nine years at the time of the death of her husband (for she must be above nine years old at the time of the decease of her husband); otherwise she shall not be endowed."12

"Dowment ad ostium ecclesiae is where a man of full age seised in fee-simple, who shall be married to a woman, and when he cometh to the church door to be married, there, after affiance and troth plighted between them, he endoweth the woman of his whole land, or of the half, or other lesser part thereof, and there openly doth declare the quantity and certainty of the land, which she shall have for her dower. (Here be two things that the law doth delight in, viz., first, to have this and the like openly done; secondly, to have certainty, which is the mother of quiet and repose. And this word (moiety), above said, is to be intended of the half in certainty, and not of the moiety in common; which clearly appeareth in that here Littleton saith, the quantity and certainty of the land.) In this case the wife, after the death of the husband, may enter into the said quantity of land of which her husband endowed her, without other assignment of any."

12 The following note is by the editor of the eleventh edition of Lord Coke's Commentary. (The reason why the law gave the wife dower will appear, if we consider how the law stood anciently; for by the old law, if this provision had not been made, and the party at the marriage had made no assignment of dower, the wife would have been without any provision, for the personal estates even of the richest were then very inconsiderable; and before trusts were invented. which is but lately, the husband could give his wife nothing during his own life, nor could he provide for her by will, because lands could not be devised, unless it was in some particular places by the custom, till the statute of Hen. 8 (Hargr. n. 8, 30 b, (178).

"Dowment ex assensu patris is, where the father is seised of tenements in fee, and his son and heir apparent when he is married, endoweth his wife at the monastery or church door, of parcel of his father's lands or tenements, with the assent of his father, and assigns the quantity and parcels. (So as both in dower ad ostium ecclesiae, et ex assensu patris, the certainty must be expressed. And therefore, where books speak of a moiety, it is intended, (as hath been said), of a half in certain.) In this case, after the death of the son, the wife shall enter into some parcel, without the assignment of any. (In this case, after the death of the husband, the wife shall enter, or have a writ of dower, albeit, the father be alive.) But it hath been said in this case, that it behooveth the wife to have a deed of the father, to prove his assent and consent to this endowment. M. 44, E. 3, s. 45."

"Also, there is another dower, which is called dowment de la pluis beale. And this is in case where a man is seised of forty acres of land, and he holdeth twenty acres of the said forty acres, of one by knight-service, and the other twenty acres in socage, and taketh wife, and hath issue a son, and dieth, his son being within the age of fourteen years, and the lord of whom the land is holden by knight-service entereth into twenty acres holden of him, (for he is not possessed as a guardian against whom a writ of dower lieth, until he doth enter. Of the wardship of the body he is possessed before seisure, because it is transitory, but he is not possessed of the land until he enter, because it is permanent. And therefore, if he doth not enter, the heir within age may assign dower, (as hath been said, and as it appeareth afterwards,) and holdeth them as guardian in chivalry during the nonage of the infant, and the mother of the infant entereth into the residue, and occupieth it as guardian against the guardian in chivalry, to be endowed of the tenements holden by knight-service, in the King's court, or other court, the guardian in chivalry may plead in such case all this matter, and show how the wife is guardian in socage as aforesaid; and pray that it may be adjudged by the court, that the wife may endow herself de la pluis beale, i. e., of the most fair of the tenements which she hath as guardian in socage, after the value of the third part which she claims by her writ of dower, to have the tenements holden by knight-service. And if the wife cannot gainsay this, then the judgment shall be given, that the guardian in chivalry shall hold the lands holden of him during the nonage of the infant quit from the woman, etc."