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Most Popular Legal Definitions

minor

A young person not yet of the age of majority; someone under legal age.

loss of consortium

the inability of one's spouse to have normal marital relations, which is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

probation

A punishment given out as part of a sentence which means that instead of jailing a person convicted of a crime, a judge will order that the person reports to a probation officer regularly.

supplemental

referring to anything that is added to complete something.

caveat emptor

Latin for "let the buyer beware." The basic premise that the buyer buys at his/her own risk and therefore should examine and test a product himself/herself for obvious defects and imperfections.

liquidation

The selling of all the assets of a debtor and the use of the cash to pay off creditors.

basis

the original cost of an asset to be used to determine the amount of capital gain tax upon its sale; an "adjusted basis" includes improvements, expenses, and damages between the time the original basis (price) is established and transfer of the asset; "stepped up basis" means that the original basis of an asset will be stepped up to current value at the time of the death of the owner, and thus keep down capital gain taxes if the beneficiary of the dead person sells the asset

force majuere

French for an act of God; an inevitable, unpredictable act of nature.

ratification

 the act of approving or accepting an act performed by another, applicable to both to individual actions and measures proposed by an individual

amended complaint

what results when the party suing changes the complaint they filed; complaints are amended to correct facts, add new causes of action, substitute discovered names for persons sued as "J. Does" or to properly plead a cause of action after the court found the initial complaint inadequate