Dower

Dower is that part of the husband's lands and tenements to which the wife is entitled for her life upon the husband's death. It is regulated by the statute 3 and 4 William IV., chap. 105, which abolished certain kinds of dower, and for the first time gave dower out of equitable estates. It also simplified the way in which dower could be barred or defeated. Except in cases of special custom, as Gavelkind (q.v.), the wife is entitled to one-third of the income of the husband's lands and tenements for her life.