Glossary
Terms starting with L
653 definitions · page 8 of 11.
- Legal Terms - Summary Judgment
- Summary Judgment information: The court may be asked to rule in situations where one party alleges there is no fact in dispute by means of admissible evidence. If the other party cannot controvert the issue, summary judgment may be entered, disposing of that…
- Legal Terms - Summons
- Summons information: The initial notice to the defendant that he or she has been sued and that there is a time limit on responding.
- Legal Terms - Sunset Law
- Sunset Law information: A law that expires by its terms at a particular time unless re-enacted.
- Legal Terms - Sunshine
- Sunshine Law information: A law that requires openness from the government. AKA open meetings law.
- Legal Terms - Superfund
- Superfund information: This is the common name for a Federal Government regulated trust fund, financed by taxes on chemical and petroleum products, that is designated to identify and pay for environmental cleanup, until the liable parties pay up and…
- Legal Terms - Supremacy Clause
- Supremacy Clause information: Constitutionally founded principle that requires Federal law to be supreme if in conflict with a State law in the same area. Therefore, postmen need not be state licensed drivers, but they must obey state traffic law.
- Legal Terms - Supreme Court
- Supreme Court information: Constitutionally founded highest court in the land.
- Legal Terms - Surety
- Surety information: One who stands for the debt of another in case the other fails to pay, without having participated in the consideration for the debt. A surety is like a guarantor, or co-signer on a loan, but really is primarily liable on the debt.
- Legal Terms - Tacking
- Tacking information: Refers to the joining together of successive time periods such that someone can claim the entire period applies. For example, in adverse possession cases, the present possessor may be able to add the time spent in possession by the prior…
- Legal Terms - Tail
- Tail information: In real property law, a Tail refers to the limitation found in deeds that describes or limits those who can inherit the property. For example, a "tail male" limits the inheritance to male heirs, and a "tail female" is a limitation to female…
- Legal Terms - Taking
- Taking information: In condemnation practice, this is the actual wresting of ownership in land from an individual to the government, for some public purpose.
- Legal Terms - Tangible Property
- Tangible Property information: The class of property that has a physical form that can be described objectively. Tangible personal property can be weighed, measured, counted, etc.
- Legal Terms - Tariff
- Tariff information: A tax that is imposed on the import or export of goods into a country. This is an indirect tax and the cost of the goods ultimately includes the tax. Since it is embedded in the price, the tax paid by the consumer is not deductible.
- Legal Terms - Tax Attorney
- Tax Attorney Information: Most lawyers will specialize into certain areas of interest during their careers. Those few that venture into tax practice are usually highly skilled and well versed in both tax law and tax accounting. Tax law is detailed intensive…
- Legal Terms - Tax Avoidance
- Tax Avoidance information: This is what privately employed tax lawyers are best employed to do: avoiding tax by taking full and complete advantage of all legally available tax planning opportunities. If you go over the line, it is called tax evasion.
- Legal Terms - Tax Bracket
- Tax Bracket information: The US uses a graduated tax system where tax rates increase as does taxable income. As a person goes from stage to stage on the tax scale, they are going from one tax bracket to another.
- Legal Terms - Tax Deduction
- Tax Deduction Information: A tax deduction is any allowable expense that may be subtracted from the taxpayer's adjusted gross income to calculate the amount of actual taxable income. Examples of allowable deductions for an individual taxpayer are state and…
- Legal Terms - Tax Deferred
- Tax Deferred information: Present income that is taxable, but under the provisions of a particular regulation or tax code provision, may be postponed to be taxed in the future. For example, income presently taxable may be put into various special retirement…
- Legal Terms - Tax Evasion
- Tax Evasion information: The intentional attempt to not pay a tax otherwise due by using tax planning devices and schemes to circumvent the tax code. Tax evasion is a crime and has both civil and criminal penalties.
- Legal Terms - Tax Exempt
- Tax Exempt information: Something that is not subject to a tax, such as churches and interest on municipal bonds.
- Legal Terms - Tax Haven
- Tax Haven Information: A Tax Haven is really a slang term meant to identify particular countries that will offer businesses and individuals a place to deposit assets with little or no tax consequence. In addition, there is little to no regulation in a tax…
- Legal Terms - Tax Law
- Tax Law information: The area of law practice dealing with the internal revenue code and taxation issues. Tax lawyers find employment in many areas, from prosecution of white collar crime, to corporation, finance, accounting, and securities law.
- Legal Terms - Tax Liability
- Tax Liability information: The amount of unpaid taxes due, or the amount of tax that is owed after taking all allowable deductions and credits.
- Legal Terms - Tax Planning
- Tax Planning Information: Every taxpayer should develop a tax strategy aimed to minimize the amount of tax that will actually have to be paid to the taxing authority, both in the long term and in the short term. The first step is choosing the proper filing…
- Legal Terms - Tax Rate
- Tax Rate Information: A taxpayer's tax rate is the amount of tax paid expressed as a percentage of the taxpayer's taxable income. Tax rates get higher in percentage as income amounts go up. The top tax rate is 35%.
- Legal Terms - Tax Refund
- Tax Refund Information: The tax refund is the common term used for the repayment of overpaid taxes to the individual taxpayer. Refunds are due when the taxpayer has had too much tax withheld or the taxes paid have been overestimated. Never a good idea…
- Legal Terms - Tax Shelter
- Tax Shelter information: An investment strategy, or operation, that is designed to avoid tax or reduce tax. For a more complete summary on this term please see the article at Legal Term Topics and Issues - Income Tax Law.
- Legal Terms - Tax Write Off
- Tax Write Off information: A means of reducing a tax liability, through deductions allowed by law, or by depreciation of assets, or by accounting for losses and expenses necessarily incurred in creating the taxable thing.
- Legal Terms - Taxable
- Taxable information: An item or situation resulting in gain that is subject to the imposition of a tax or to taxation by a government.
- Legal Terms - Taxable Income
- Taxable Income Information: Taxable income is the taxpayer's adjusted gross income minus all allowable tax deductions. This taxable income amount is the figure used to calculate actual tax owed. Examples of allowable deductions for an individual taxpayer are…
- Legal Terms - Taxpayer Standing Doctrine
- Taxpayer Standing Doctrine information: A taxpayer does not have standing to sue the government for misusing tax money unless he or she can show a particular injury of a direct nature or a unique personal stake in the matter. This is a constitutional…
- Legal Terms - Taxpayer's Offer in Compromise
- Taxpayer's Offer in Compromise Information: In tax law, an Offer in Compromise is a good faith proposal made by a taxpayer that is allegedly in arrears to the IRS. The proposal is made directly to the IRS and is an effort to dispose of an unpaid tax…
- Legal Terms - Tenancy in Common
- Tenancy in Common information: Two or more persons having the same title to real property hold as tenants in common and each are entitled to possess the whole of the property.
- Legal Terms - Tenant
- Tenant information: One who rents real property from the owner, known as a landlord.
- Legal Terms - Tender Of Performance
- Tender Of Performance information: In contract law, a person tenders his performance by offering to perform even in light of the other party's breach. Thus, the contract is enforceable and damages may be shown.
- Legal Terms - Tender Offer
- Tender Offer information: As a matter in corporate law, an offer made to a company’s shareholders, to buy their shares at a certain price, is an offer buy the company for tender of their shares at that price.
- Legal Terms - Testamentary Trust
- Testamentary Trust information: This is a trust created by the settlor, or benefactor, through his will and that becomes effective on his passing.
- Legal Terms - Testate
- Testate information: One who makes a will is a testator and he or she is said to be testate when the will exists. Having no will is to be intestate.
- Legal Terms - Testator
- Testator information: One who makes a will.
- Legal Terms - Testify
- Testify information: To give evidence, under oath, in court or at a deposition.
- Legal Terms - Theft
- Theft information: The taking of another's property with the intention of permanently depriving that person of that property.
- Legal Terms - Title
- Title information: The degree of ownership a person can have in a particular piece of property. Your title to the property is all that you in fact possess and all that you can transfer to others. Thus, a squatter has little if any rights, a tenant holds…
- Legal Terms - Title Company
- Title Company information: A company that collects all available information on a real estate sale according to a contract. As a middleman, the title company facilitates the sale, for a fee, and transfers title to the buyer and cash to the seller. In most…
- Legal Terms - Title Insurance
- Title Insurance information: An insurance policy that insures the status of the title to a specific parcel of real property. In exchange for the premium, title insurance companies assume the risk that title to a parcel of real estate is other than as it is…
- Legal Terms - Tort
- Tort information: A civil wrong for which the law allows a remedy. Torts are the wide field of non criminal causes of action available to injured, maligned, or damaged persons.
- Legal Terms - Tortious Interference
- Tortious Interference information: A wrongful and intentional damaging of another person's contractual relationship or business expectancy.
- Legal Terms - Toxic Tort
- Toxic Tort information: A negligence action brought generally against the manufacturer of a chemical or toxic substance that caused an injury. Toxic tort cases are quite often certified as class actions where plaintiffs are numerous.
- Legal Terms - Trade Name
- Trade Name information: Name by which a business is known. This name may or may not be registered and it may be different than the name of the product.
- Legal Terms - Trade Secret
- Trade Secret information: Information or technical material, or otherwise, not a matter of common knowledge in the field or trade, that has some recognizable value that is or can be used for the owner's competitive advantage, and if it has a measure of…
- Legal Terms - Trademark Registration
- Trademark Registration information: The statutory process by which a valid trademark can be registered and protected from unauthorized use.
- Legal Terms - Trademark Search
- Trademark Search information: A perusal of agency records to determine is a contemplated trademark is available for registration. This is a notice matter.
- Legal Terms - Transfer in Fraud of Creditors
- Transfer in Fraud of Creditors information: In bankruptcy matters, and in breach of contract cases, a transfer in fraud of creditors is a sale or other transfer of property made for the purpose to impede the rights or to prevent the transferor's creditors…
- Legal Terms - Transferee
- Transferee information: One to whom property is transferred, or the receiver of property.
- Legal Terms - Transferee Liability
- Transferee Liability information: The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) can require payment of a tax by the transferee even though the tax is really owed by the transferor, up to the limit of the property's value. For example, the receiver of a taxable gift is…
- Legal Terms - Transferor
- Transferor information: One who delivers or transfers possession of property to another, who is then known as the transferee.
- Legal Terms - Treason
- Treason information: Treason is a criminal offense consisting of attempting to overthrow the government. This offense, by information, will not be prosecuted if the government is actually overthrown. There must be proven a breach of a duty of allegiance by…
- Legal Terms - Treasury Bond
- Treasury Bond information: For various purposes, the Federal Government from time to time issues long term debt securities known as Treasury Bonds. Usually, these bonds are very safe, pay low interest, and don't mature for 10 to 30 years.
- Legal Terms - Treasury Note
- Treasury Note information: Similar to Treasury Bonds, Treasury Notes are intermediate term (2 to 5 year maturity) debt securities. Usually, these securities, or notes, are very safe and as a result pay low interest.
- Legal Terms - Treble Damages
- Treble Damages information: Some few statutes allow for a tripling of actual damages awarded in a case as a means of punishing the defendant or inducing the public to obey the particular law or regulation at issue.
- Legal Terms - Trespass
- Trespass information: Any of the several unlawful infringements, or interferences possible, into the rights or property of another. Commonly, the term today refers to unauthorized entry on real property. At one time trespass was a much more general term…