Legal Definitions - entirety

The term entirety refers to something considered as a complete, indivisible whole, rather than a collection of separate parts. In a legal context, it signifies that an item, agreement, or property cannot be legally separated or treated as individual components without altering its fundamental nature or legal effect.

Here are some examples to illustrate this concept:

• Property Ownership by a Married Couple: Imagine a married couple who purchase a house together. In some jurisdictions, they might own the property "by the entirety." This means that neither spouse individually owns a distinct "half" of the property that they can sell or mortgage on their own. Instead, they both own the entire property together as a single legal unit. If one spouse passes away, the other automatically owns the whole property, not just their original share. The property is treated as an indivisible whole, and neither can act independently regarding their "share" without the other's consent.

• Contract for a Custom-Built System: Consider a business that hires a software development firm to create a highly specialized, custom-built inventory management system. The contract specifies the delivery of the complete, functioning software system, integrated with their existing hardware. The business isn't contracting for individual lines of code, database tables, or user interface components; they are contracting for the system in its entirety. If the firm delivers all the individual components but fails to integrate them into a working system, or if a critical module is missing, the contract has not been fulfilled in its entirety, and the business may not be obligated to pay the full amount. The value and purpose lie in the complete, indivisible unit.

• A Comprehensive Legal Settlement: Suppose an individual is involved in a complex dispute over a business partnership and eventually reaches a settlement agreement with their former partners. This settlement agreement often represents a resolution of all claims related to the partnership dispute in their entirety. This means the agreed-upon payment and terms are intended to fully resolve all past, present, and future claims, liabilities, and obligations arising from that specific partnership. Once the settlement is finalized, the individual cannot later come back and claim additional damages or raise new issues pertaining to the same partnership, as the settlement was meant to cover the whole scope of the dispute, treating the legal matter as a complete and indivisible resolution.