Historically, the
merger
Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of a company, business organization, or one of their operating units is transferred to or consolidated with another entity. They may happen through direct absorpt ...
doctrine (a.k.a. "doctrine of merger") was the notion that marriage caused a woman's
legal
Law is a set of rules that are created and are law enforcement, enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a Socia ...
identity to merge with that of her husband.
Thus, a woman could not
sue or
testify against her husband any more than he could sue or testify against himself. Since her identity had merged with his, the two were now considered one legal entity.
See also
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Merger doctrine (civil procedure) The merger doctrine in civil procedure stands for the proposition that when litigants agree to a settlement, and then seek to have their settlement incorporated into a court order, the court order actually extinguishes the settlement and replaces it ...
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Merger doctrine (property law)
In the law of real property, the merger doctrine stands for the proposition that the contract for the conveyance of property merges into the deed of conveyance; therefore, any guarantees made in the contract that are not reflected in the deed are ...
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Merger doctrine (trust law)
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Coverture
Coverture was a legal doctrine in English common law under which a married woman's legal existence was considered to be merged with that of her husband. Upon marriage, she had no independent legal existence of her own, in keeping with society's ...
References
Legal doctrines and principles
Marriage law
Mothers' rights
Family law legal terminology
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