Also known as: effective times · effective date · time of effectiveness
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
The precise instant designated in a legal instrument or statute when a transaction, order, document, or modification becomes legally operative. That moment fixes the point at which rights, duties, and liabilities attach or change under the governing terms.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Elena Estrada obtained a child-support order in State A. After State B modified the order, Elena sought relief for violations that occurred before the modification took effect. The tribunal in State A could award appropriate relief because the violations predated the effective time of the modification.
Enzo Eastwood created an irrevocable trust that permitted distributions for an individual's health, education, support, or maintenance. The trustee applied the ascertainable standard as defined in the Internal Revenue Code provisions in effect on the effective time of the Uniform Trust Code adoption in the state.
Ella Emerson's father executed a will attempting to grant her a power of appointment over trust assets. Ella died two weeks before the will took effect. Because she died before the effective time of the document, no power of appointment was created and any attempted exercise was ineffective.
Eastern Electric and Emerald Enterprises executed a merger agreement specifying that the merger would close at 11:59 p.m. on the designated date. At that effective time the separate corporate existences ended and Emerald emerged as the surviving corporation with all assets and liabilities transferred by operation of law.
Enigma Technologies filed documents for a going-private transaction. The transaction became binding at the effective time specified in the filed documents rather than at the moment of shareholder approval, determining when dissenting shareholders' appraisal rights vested.
Elemental Pharmaceuticals launched a tender offer that remained open until a stated closing hour on the final day. Shares tendered before that effective time were accepted and paid for. Shares arriving after the cutoff were returned, fixing the moment at which the offeror's purchase obligation crystallized.
A premarital agreement becomes effective only upon the occurrence of the contemplated marriage. A marital agreement between already married spouses becomes effective when both parties have signed it.
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The issuing tribunal may still provide appropriate relief for those pre-modification violations even after another state modifies the order.
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No power is created and any attempted exercise is ineffective.
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…become effective until several weeks following the trial, they had been promulgated prior to the trial and their impending effective date was known to all at the time of the trial. For this reason, and because of its established reliability, the evidence was admitted in the form offered.[^maj-2] The Dillon, Read report, as…