Also known as: dimidietas · dimidius · dimidiate · moiety · half
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
An undivided half interest in property, entitling the holder to equal possession and proceeds without physical division of the asset.
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Denise Donovan and Dustin Donovan purchased a residence during their marriage. Upon separation, each asserts rights to the property under the applicable marital property statute. The court recognizes that Denise holds a dimidium interest, allowing her to claim half the proceeds upon sale without requiring partition of the physical asset.
Central Hanover Bank administers a common trust fund with multiple beneficiaries. After proper notice is given, the court distributes the fund such that each qualifying beneficiary receives a dimidium share of the assets attributable to their class. The allocation proceeds without physical division of the underlying securities.
Merrell Dow faces product liability claims from multiple plaintiffs. The jury awards damages that the court divides so each successful claimant recovers a dimidium portion of the total fund after expert testimony establishes causation. The division occurs by operation of the verdict rather than by separate trials.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission reviews a permit application from Vermont Yankee. After remand, the agency splits its final decision so that each interested party receives a dimidium voice in the remaining procedural steps. The allocation respects the statutory limits on judicial review of agency action.
Maryland imposes a tax on the Bank of the United States. The Court holds that the state may collect only a dimidium of the amount originally assessed because the federal charter protects the institution from full state taxation. The reduced levy preserves the supremacy of federal law.
Texas enforces criminal abortion statutes with limited exceptions. The Court recognizes that a pregnant woman holds a dimidium liberty interest in deciding whether to continue the pregnancy during the first trimester. This interest prevents the state from imposing an absolute prohibition.
Dimidium signifies the present undivided one-half interest each spouse holds in marital property. This interest attaches automatically under the Uniform Marital Property Act and survives dissolution unless a decree provides otherwise.
When clear and convincing evidence fails to establish survival by 120 hours, one-half of the property passes as if one co-owner survived and one-half as if the other survived. Dimidium therefore supplies the default equal division rule.
No. Dimidium creates an undivided interest that may be satisfied by sale and division of proceeds or by accounting for rents and profits. Physical partition is not required.
…of ancient or even of common-law origin. Instead, they derive from statutory changes effected, for the most part, in the latter half of the 19th century. III The Constitution does not explicitly mention any right of privacy. In a line of decisions, however, going back as far as Union Pacific R. Co. v. Botsford ,…