Legal Definitions - de dote assignanda

DE DOTE ASSIGNANDA

De dote assignanda (dee doh-tee as-ig-nan-d^əa), n. [Law Latin “for assigning dower”] is a historical writ that ordered a royal escheater to provide dower to a widow of a tenant holding an estate directly from the Crown.

Example 1: In the 14th century, a widow whose husband held an estate directly from the Crown could use the writ of de dote assignanda to claim her dower rights.

Example 2: The writ of de dote assignanda was used to ensure that widows were provided with a portion of their husband's estate after his death.

The term de dote assignanda refers to a legal writ that was used in medieval England to protect the rights of widows. If a tenant holding an estate directly from the Crown died, his widow was entitled to a portion of the estate as her dower. However, sometimes the escheater (the official responsible for managing the estate) would refuse to provide the widow with her dower rights. In such cases, the widow could use the writ of de dote assignanda to force the escheater to provide her with her rightful share of the estate. The examples illustrate how the writ was used to protect the rights of widows and ensure that they received their dower rights.