Legal Definitions - ne unques accouple

Ne unques accouple is a historical legal defense, originating from Law French, meaning "never married." It was used in legal proceedings where a woman claimed a widow's share (known as "dower") of her deceased husband's property. The party defending against this claim would use ne unques accouple to assert that the woman was never lawfully married to the deceased man, thereby challenging her right to any portion of his estate.

Here are some examples illustrating how this term would apply:

• Example 1: Challenging a Claim by a Newcomer

  After a wealthy landowner, Mr. Thompson, passes away, his adult children inherit his estate. A few months later, a woman named Ms. Davis comes forward, claiming to be Mr. Thompson's secret wife and demanding her legal widow's share of his properties. Mr. Thompson's children, through their legal counsel, would invoke the defense of ne unques accouple. They would present evidence to the court that Ms. Davis and Mr. Thompson were never legally married, perhaps showing no marriage certificate exists, or that their relationship did not meet the legal requirements for marriage in that jurisdiction. By successfully proving this, Ms. Davis would be denied any claim to the estate as a widow.

• Example 2: Disputing a Common-Law Marriage

  Mr. Chen lived with Ms. Lee for many years without a formal marriage ceremony. Upon Mr. Chen's death, Ms. Lee attempts to claim dower rights, arguing that they had a valid common-law marriage. Mr. Chen's sister, who is the primary beneficiary of his will, disputes this claim. Her legal team would use ne unques accouple as a defense, arguing that despite their long cohabitation, Mr. Chen and Ms. Lee never met all the specific legal criteria for a common-law marriage in their state (e.g., holding themselves out to the public as married, intent to be married). If successful, Ms. Lee would not be recognized as a legal widow entitled to dower.

• Example 3: Invalidating a Bigamous Marriage

  Suppose Mr. Rodriguez married Ms. Perez, but it is later discovered that at the time of their wedding, Mr. Rodriguez was still legally married to his first wife, Ms. Garcia, from whom he had never divorced. After Mr. Rodriguez's death, Ms. Perez attempts to claim dower from his estate. The heirs of Mr. Rodriguez, or Ms. Garcia herself, could use the defense of ne unques accouple against Ms. Perez. They would argue that because Mr. Rodriguez was already legally married, his subsequent marriage to Ms. Perez was bigamous and therefore void from the start. This would mean Ms. Perez was never lawfully married to Mr. Rodriguez and thus has no right to a widow's share of his property.