Jointure

Jointure was a legal concept used largely in late mediaeval and early modern Britain, denoting the estate given to a married couple by the husband's family. One of its most important functions was providing a livelihood for the wife if she became widowed, and it is most often used in this sense, interchangeably with dower.

== In practice == After marriage, the father of the husband would settle lands or income on the couple to enable them to lead an economically independent life. This usually took the form of a settlement by deed, giving the couple joint tenancy for the duration of their lives (ensuring that the wife would keep all of the property upon being widowed). The eldest son and his wife, who would inherit the whole family estate on his father's death, received their jointure for the father's lifetime, while younger sons retained their jointure lands after their father died. The lands thus given to younger sons were either inherited by their descendants or reabsorbed into the family estate. Jointures were often given 'in survivorship', meaning that the wife would retain it if she survived the husband. In this case, the couple's jointure would form part or whole of the wife's promised dower. It is in this sense that the word is most often used.