Legal Definitions - medio

The term "medio" is a Latin word meaning "middle" or "mean." In a legal context, it is almost always encountered as part of the phrase de medio.

De medio is a Latin phrase that translates to "from the middle" or "from the midst." In legal practice, it refers to something that is taken from, derived from, or exists within a common fund, a general body of assets, or an intermediate position. It signifies an extraction or allocation from a shared source before specific individual distributions or allocations are made.

Here are some examples illustrating the application of de medio:

• Estate Administration:

  Example: When a person passes away, their estate (all their assets and debts) goes through a legal process. Before any specific gifts (legacies) can be given to beneficiaries, certain essential expenses, such as funeral costs, taxes, and administrative fees, must be paid de medio.

  Explanation: This means these critical costs are taken "from the middle" or "from the general fund" of the estate's total assets *before* the remaining assets are distributed to the heirs. It illustrates that these expenses are a priority, coming out of the overall pool rather than from any specific inheritance.

• Trust Fund Management:

  Example: A charitable trust is established with a large sum of money. The trust document specifies that a certain percentage of the annual income must be set aside de medio to cover the trust's operating expenses, such as administrative staff salaries and auditing fees, before any grants are distributed to charitable organizations.

  Explanation: Here, de medio indicates that the operational costs are drawn "from the midst" or "from the common pool" of the trust's income *before* the primary charitable distributions are made. This ensures the trust's ongoing viability by funding its administration from its general resources.

• Partnership Dissolution:

  Example: Two partners decide to dissolve their business. After selling all assets and collecting outstanding debts, the partnership has a final pool of funds. Before distributing the remaining capital to each partner according to their ownership shares, any outstanding partnership debts to creditors must be paid de medio.

  Explanation: This example shows that the partnership's liabilities are settled "from the middle" or "from the common fund" of the dissolved business's assets *before* the individual partners receive their final payouts. It ensures that external obligations are met from the collective resources first.