Writ of Dower Law and Legal Definition
Writ of dower includes two forms of writ that is usually granted to a widow. One form being that, it is a writ that lies for a widow who claims, the specific recovery of her dower, when no part of such dower was assigned to her till date of suit. It is also termed as a writ of dower unde nihil habet. Other form being that it is a writ that lies for a widow to provide her with the remainder of the dower to which she is entitled after part of it has been assigned to the tenant. The second form of writ is seldom used in practice.
In Fosdick v. Gooding, 1 Me. 30 (Me. 1820), the court observed that “Tenants in severalty, of distinct parcels of land, cannot be joined in a writ of dower.”
