Incite: To arouse; urge; provoke; encourage; spur on; goad; stir up; instigate; set in motion; as in to incite a riot. Also, generally, in criminal law to instigate, persuade, or move another to commit a crime; in this sense nearly synonymous with abet. Income: Thereturninmoneyfromone’s business, labor, or capital invested; gains, profits, salary,wages,etc. The gain derived from capital, from labor or effort, or both combined, including profit or gain through sale or conversion of capital. Income is not a gain accruing to capital or a growth in the value of the investment, but is a profit, something of exchangeable value, proceeding from the property and being received or drawn by the recipient for separate use, benefit, and disposal. That which comes in or is received from any business, or investment of capital, without reference to outgoing expenditures. Income splitting: The right, created by provisions of federal tax laws, given to married couples who file joint returns to have their combined incomes subject to an INCOME TAX at a rate equal to that which would be imposed if each had filed a separate return for one-half the amount of their combined income. Income tax: A charge imposed by government on th e annual gains of a person, corporation, or other taxable unit deriv ed through wo rk, business pursuits, investments, property dealings, and other sources determined in accordance with the INTERNAL REVENUE CODE or state law. Incompatibility: The inability of a husband and wife to cohabit in a marital relationship. Incompetency: The lack of ability, knowledge, legal qualification, or fitness to discharge a required duty or professi onal obligatio n. Incompetent evidence: Probative matter that is not admissible in a legal proceedin g; evidence that is not admissible under the FEDERAL RULES OF EVIDENCE. That which the law does n ot allow to be presen ted at all, or in connection with a particular matter, due to lack of originality, a defect in the witness or the document, or due to the nature of the evidence in and of itself. Inconsistent: Reciprocally contradictory or repugnant. Incontestability clause: Aprovisioninalifeor HEALTH INSURANCE policy that precludes the insurer from alleging that the policy, after it has been in effect for a stated period (typically two or three years), is void because of misrepresentations made by the insured in the application for it. Incorporate: To formally create a corporation pursuant to the requirements prescribed by state statute; to confer a corporate franchise upon certain individuals. Incorporation by reference: The method of making one document of any kind become a part of another separate document by alluding to the former in the latter and declaring that the former shall be taken and considered as a part of the latter the same as if it were completely set out therein. Incorporation doctrine: A constitutional doctrine whereby selected provisions of the BILL OF RIGHTS aremadeapplicabletothestatesthroughtheDUE PROCESS CLAUSE of the FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT . Incorporeal: Lacking a physical or material nature but relating to or affecting a body. Incremental: Additional or increased growth, bulk, quantity, number, or value; enlarged. GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION DICTIONARY OF LEGAL TERMS INCREMENTAL 117 Incriminate: To charge with a crime; to expose to an accusation or a charge of crime; to involve oneself or another in a criminal prosecution or the danger thereof; as in the rule that a witness is not bound to give testimony that would tend to incriminate him or her. Inculpate: To accuse; to involve in blame or guilt. Incumbent: An individual who is in current possession of a particular office and who is legally authorized to discharge the duties of that office. Incur: To become subject to and liable for; to have liabilities imposed by act or operation of law. Indefeasible: That which cannot be defeated, revoked, or made void. This term is usually applied to an estate or right that cannot be defeated. Indefinite term: A prison sentence for a specifically designated length of time up to a certain prescribed maximum, such as one to ten years or twenty-five years to life. Indemnify: To compensate for loss or damage; to provide security for financial reimbursement to an individual in case of a specified loss incurred by the person. Indemnity: Recompense for loss, damage, or injuries; restitution or reimbursement. Indenture: An agreement declaring the benefits and obligations of two or more parties, often applicable in the context of BANKRUPTCY and bond tradin g. Independent audit: A systematic review of the accuracy and truthfulness of the accounting records of a particular individual, business, or organization by a person or firm skilled in the necessary accounting methods and not related in any way to the person or firm undergoing the audit. Independent contractor: A person who contracts to do work for another person according to his or her own processes and methods; the contractor is not subject to another’s control except for what is specified in a mutually binding agreement for a specific job. Independent counsel: An attorney appointed by the federal government to investigate and prosecute federal government officials. Indeterminate: That which is uncertain or not particularly designated. Index: A book containing references, a lphabetically arranged, to the contents of a series or collection of documents or volumes; or a section (normally at the end) of a single volume or set of volumes containing such references to its contents. Statistical indexes are also used to track or measure changes in the economy (for example, the Consumer Price Index) and movement in stock markets (for example, Standard &Poor’s Index). Such indexes are usually keyed to a base year, month, or o ther period of comparison. In mortgage financing, the term is used to determine adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) interest rates after the discount period ends. Common indexes for ARMs are one-year Treasury securities and the national average cost of funds to savings and loan associations. Index to Legal Periodicals: The set of volumes that lists what has appeared in print from 1926 to the present in the major law reviews and law-oriented magazines in various countries—usually organized according to author, title, and subject, and containing a table of cases. Indicia: Signs; indications. Circumstances that point to the existence of a given fact as probable, but not certain. For example, indicia of partnership are any circumstances which GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION 118 INCRIMINATE DICTIONARY OF LEGAL TERMS would induce the belief that a given person was in reality, though not technically, a member of agivenfirm. Indictment: A written accusation charging that an individual named therein has committed an act or omitted to do something that is punishable by law. Indirect evidence: Probative matter that does not proximately relate to an issue but that establishes a hypothesis by showing various consistent facts. Indispensable party: An individual who has an interest in the substantive issue of a legal action of such a nature that a final decree cannot be handed down without that interest being affected or without leaving the controversy in a condition whereby its final determination would be totally UNCONSCIONABLE. Individual retirement account: The individual retirement account (IRA) is a means by which an individual can receive certain federal tax advantages while investing for retirement. Indorse: To sign a paper or document, thereby making it possible for the rights represented therein to pass to another individual. Also spelled endorse. Indorsement: A signature on a COMMERCIAL PAPER or document. Inducement: An advantage or benefit that precipitates a particular action on the part of an individual. Industrial union: A labor organization co mposed of mem bers employed i n a particular field, such as textiles, but who perform different individual jobs within their general type of work. Infamy: Notoriety; condition of being known as p ossessing a shameful or disgraceful reputation; loss of character or good reputation. Infancy: Minority; the status of an individual who is below the legal age of majority. Infants: Infantsarepersonswhoareundertheageoflegalmajority—at common law 21 years, now generally 18 years. According to the sense in which this term is used, it may denote the age of the person, the contractual disabilities that non-age entails, or the person’s status with regard to other powers or relations. Inference: In the law of evidence, a truth or proposition drawn from another that is supposed or admitted to be true. A process of reasoning by which a fact or proposition sought to be established is deduced as a logical consequence from other facts, or a state of facts, already proved or admitted. A logical and reason able conclusion of a fact not presented by direct evidence but which, by process of logic and reason, a trier of fact may con clude exists from the established facts. Infe rences are deductions or conclusions that with re ason and common sense lead the jury to draw from facts which have been established by the evidence in the case. Inferior court: This term may d enote any court subordinate to the chief appellate tribunal in the particular judicial system (e.g., trial court); butitisalsocommonlyusedasthedesignationofa court of special, limited, or statutory jurisdiction, w hose record must show the existence and attachingofjurisdictioninanygivencase. Infirmity: Flaw, defect, or weakness. Information: The formal accusation of a criminal offense made by a public official; the sworn, written accusation of a crime. GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION DICTIONARY OF LEGAL TERMS INFORMATION 119 Information and belief: A standard phrase added to qualify a statement made under oath; a phrase indicating that a statement is made, not from firsthand knowledge but, nevertheless, in the firm belief that it is true. Informed consent: Assent to permit an occurrence, such as surgery, that is based on a complete disclosure of facts n eeded to make the decision intelligently, such as knowledge of the risks entailed or alternatives. The name for a fundamental principle of law that a physician has a duty to reveal what a reasonably prudent physician in the medical community employing reasonable care would reveal to a patient as to whatever reasonably foreseeable risks of harm might result from a proposed course of treatment. This disclosure must be afforded so that a patient—exercising ordinary care for his or her own welfare and confronted with a choice of undergoing the proposed treatment, alternative treatment, or none at all—can intelligently exercise judgment by reasonably balancing the probable risks against the probable benefits. Infra: [Latin, Below, under, ben eath, underneath.] A term employed in legal writing t o indicate that the matter designated will appear beneath or in the pages following the reference. Infraction: Violation or infringement; breach of a statute, contract, or obligation. Infringement: The encroachment, breach, or violation of a right, law, regulation, or contract. Ingrossing: The act of making a perfect copy of a particular instrument, such as a deed, lease, or will, from a rough draft so that it may be properly executed to achieve its purpose. Inherent: Derived from the essential nature of, and inseparable from, the object itself. Inherit: To receive property according to the state laws of intestate succession from a decedent who has failed to execute a valid will, or, where the term is applied in a more general sense, to receive the property of a decedent by will. Inheritance: Property received from a decedent, either by will or through state laws of intestate succession, where the decedent has failed to execute a valid will. Initiative: A p rocess of a participatory democracy that empowers the people to propose legislation and to enact or reject the laws at the polls independent of the lawmaking power of the governing body. Injunction: A court order by which an individual is required to perform, or is restrained from performing, a particular act. A writ framed according to the circumstances of the individual case. Injure: To interfere with the legally protected interest of another or to inflict harm on someone, for which an action may be brought. To damage or impair. Injurious falsehood: A fallacious statement that causes intentional damage to an individual’s commercial or economic relations. Any type of defamatory remark, either written or spoken, that causes pecuniary loss to an individual through disparagement of a particular business dealing. Injury: A comprehensive term for any wrong or harm done by one individual to another individual’s body, rights, reputation, or property. Any interference with an individual’slegally protected interest. Inland waters: Canals, lakes, rivers, water courses, inlets, and bays that are nearest to the shores of a nation and subject to its complete sovereignty. GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION 120 INFORMATION AND BELIEF DICTIONARY OF LEGAL TERMS Innkeeper: An individual who, as a regular business, provides accommodations for guests in exchange for reasonable compensation. Innocent: Absent guilt; acting in GOOD FAITH with no knowledge of defects, objections, or inculpative circumstances. Innocent purchas er: An individual who, in good faith and by an honest agreement, buys property in the absence of sufficient knowledge to charge him or her with notice of any defect in the transaction. Inns of chancery: Ancient preparatory colleges where qualified clerks studied the drafting of writs, which was a function of the officers of the Court of Chancery. Inns of court: Organizations that provide preparatory education for English law students in order to teach them to practice in court. Inoperative: Void;notactive;ineffectual. Inquest: An inquiry by a CORONER or medical examiner, sometimes with the aid of a jury, into the cause o f a violent death or a death occurring under suspicious circumstances. Generally an inquest may result in a finding of natural death, accidental death, suicide, or murder. Criminal prosecution may follow when culpable conduct has contributed to the death. The body of j urors called to inquire into the circumstances of a death that occurred suddenly, by violence, or while imprisoned. Any body of jurors called to inquire into certain matters. (A GRAND JURY is sometimes called a grand inquest, for example.) The determination or findings of a body of persons called to make a legal inquiry or the report issued after their investigation. Inquiry, commissions of: Individuals employed, during conciliation, to investigate the facts of a particular dispute and to submit a r eport stating the facts and proposing terms for the resolution of the differences. Inquisitorial system: A method of legal practice in which the judge endeavors to discover facts while simultaneously representing the interests of the state in a trial. Insanity defense: A defense asserted by an accused in a criminal prosecution to avoid liability for the commission of a crime because, at the time of the crime, the person did not appreciate the nature or quality or wrongfulness of the acts. Insecurity clause: Provision in a contract that allows a creditor to make an entire debt come due if there is good reason to believe that the debtor cannot or will not pay. Insider: In the context of federal regulation of the purchase and sale of SECURITIES,aninsideris anyone who has knowledge of facts not available to the general public. Insider trading: The illegal practice of a shareholder in a public company who buys or sells stocks in that company as a result of having information unavailable to the general public. Insolvency: An incapacity to pay debts upon the date when they become due in the ordinary course of business; the condition of an individual whose property and assets are inadequate to discharge the person’sdebts. Inspection: An examination o r investigation; the right to see and duplicate documents, enter land, or make other such examinations for the purpose of gathering evidence. Installment: Regular, partial portion of the same d ebt, paid at successive periods as agreed by a debtor and creditor. GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION DICTIONARY OF LEGAL TERMS INSTALLMENT 121 Instant: Current or present. Instigate: To incite, stimulate, or induce into action; goad into an unlawful or bad action, such as acrime. Institute: To inaugurate, originate, or establish. In civil law, to direct an individual who was named as heir in a will to pass over the estate to another designated person, known as the substitute. Institution: The commencement or initiation of anything, such as an action. An establishment, particularly one that is eleemosynary or public by nature. Instructions: Directives given by a judge to a jury during a trial prescribing the manner in which the jurors should proceed in deciding the case at bar. Jury instructions ordinarily include a statement of the QUESTIONS OF FACT for determination by the jury, as well as a statement of the laws applicable to the facts of the case. Instrument: A formal or legal written document; a document in writing, such as a deed, lease, bond, contract, or will. A writing that serves as evidence of an individual’s right to collect money, such as a check. Instrumentality rule: A principle of corporate law that permits a court to disregard the corporate existence of a subsidiary corporation when it is operated solely for the benefit of the parent corporation, which controls and directs the activities of the subsidiary while asserting the shield of limited liability. Insurable interest: A right, benefit, or advantage arising out of property that is of such nature that it may properly be indemnified. Insurance: A contract whereby, for specified consider ation, one party undertakes to compensate the other for a loss relating to a particular subject as a result of the occurrence of designated hazards. Insured: The person who obtains or is otherwise covered by insurance on his or her health, life, or property. The insured in a policy is not limited to the insured named in the policy but applies to anyone who is i nsured under th e policy. Insurer: An individual or compan y who, through a contractual agreement, undertakes to compensate specified losses, liability, or damages incurred by another individual. Insurrection: A rising o r rebellion of citizens against their government, usually manifested by acts of violence. Intangibles: Property that is a “right” such as a patent, COPYRIGHT,orTRADEMARK, or one that is lacking physical existence, such as good will. A nonphysical, noncurrent asset that exists only in connection with something else, such as the good will of a business. Integrated: Completed; made whole or entire. D esegregated; converted into a nonracial, nondiscriminatory system. Integrated agreement: A contract that contains within its four corners the entire understanding of the parties and is subject to the PAROL EVIDENCE rule, which seeks to preserve the integrity o f written agreements by refusing to allow the parties to modify their contract through the introduction of prior or contemporaneous oral declarations. Integrated bar: The process of organizing the attorneys of a state into an association, membership in which is a condition precedent to the right to practice law. GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION 122 INSTANT DICTIONARY OF LEGAL TERMS Integration: The bringing together of separate elements to create a whole unit. The bringing together of people from the different demographic and racial groups that make up U.S. society. Intellectual property: Intangible rights protecting the products of human intelligence and creation, such as copyrightable works, patented inventions, TRADEMARKS, and trade secrets. Although largely governed by federal law, state law also governs some aspects of intellectual property. Intemperance: A lack of moderation. Habitual intemperance is that degree of intemperance in the use of intoxicating liquor which disqualifies the person a great portion of the time from properly attending to business. Habitual or excessive use of liquor. Intent: A determination to perform a particular act or to act in a particular manner for a specific reason; an aim or design; a resolution to use a certain means to reach an end. Inter alia: [Latin, Among other things.] Aphraseusedin PLEADING to designate that a particular statute set out therein is only a part of the statute that is relevant to the facts of the lawsuit and not the entire statute. Inter vivos: [La tin, Between the living.] A phrase used to describe a gift that is made during the donor’s lifetim e. Interest: A comprehensive term to describe any right, claim, or privilege that an individual has toward real or PERSONAL PROPERTY. Compensation for the use of borrowed money. Interest on lawyers trust account: A system in w hich lawyers place certain client deposits in interest-bearing accounts, with the interest then used to fund programs, such as legal service organizations who provide services to clients in need. Interference: In the law of PATENTS, the presence of two pending applications, or an existing patent and a pending application that encompass an identical invention or discovery. Intergovernmental immunity doctrine: A principle established under constitutional law that prevents the federal government and i ndividual state governments from intruding on one another’s sovereignty. Intergovernmental immunity is intended to keep government agencies from restricting the righ ts of other gov ernment agencie s. Interim: [Latin, In the meantime: temporary; between.] Interlineation: The process of writing between the lines of an instrument; that which is written between the lines of a document. Interlocking directorate: The relationship that exists between the board of directors of one corporation with that of another due to the fact that a number of members sit on both boards and, therefore, there is a substantial likelihood that neither corporation acts independently of the other. Interlocutory: Provisional; interim; temporary; not final; that which intervenes between the beginning and the end of a lawsuit or proceeding to either decide a particular point or matter that is not the final issue of the entire controversy or prevent irreparable harm during the pendency of the lawsuit. Internal audit: An inspection and verification of the financial records of a company or firm by a member of its own staff to determine the accuracy and acceptability of its accounting practices. GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION DICTIONARY OF LEGAL TERMS INTERNAL AUDIT 123 Internal Revenue Code: The body of law that codifies all federal tax laws, including income, estate, gift, excise, alcohol, tobacco, and employment taxes. These laws constitute title 26 of the U.S. CODE (26 U.S.C.A. § 1 et seq. [1986]) and are implemented by the INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE through its Treasury Regulations and Revenue Rulings. International Criminal Court: A permanent tribunal empowered by the United Nations to prosecute individuals for acts of genocide, crimes against hum anity, war crimes, and crimes of aggression. International law: The body of law that governs the legal relations between or among states or nations. International waterways: Narrow channels of marginal sea or inland waters through which international shipping has a right of passage. Internet: Aworldwide TELECOMMUNICATIONS network of business, government, and personal computers. Internet fraud: A crime in which the perpetrator develops a scheme using one or more elements of the INTERNET to deprive a person of property or any interest, estate, or right by a false representation of a matter of fact, whether byprovidingmisleading information or by concealment of information. Interpleader: An equitable proceeding brought by a third person to have a court determine the ownership rights of rival claimants to the same money or property that is held by that third person. Interpolation: The process of inserting additional words in a complete document or instrument in such manner as to alter its intended meaning; the addition of words to a complete document or instrument. Interpretation: The art or process of determining the intended meaning of a written document, such as a constitution, statute, contract, deed, or will. Interrogatories: Written questions submitted to a party from his or her adversary to ascertain answers that are prepared in writing and signed under oath and that have relevance to the issues in a lawsuit. Interstate compact: A voluntary arrangement between two or more states that is designed to solve their common problems and that becomes part of the laws of each state. Intervening cause: A separate act or omission that breaks the direct connection between the defendant’s actions and an injury or loss to another person, and may relieve the defendant of liability for the injury or loss. Intervenor: An individual who is not already a party to an existing lawsuit but who makes himself or herself a party either by joining with the plaintiff or uniting with the defendant in resistance of the plaintiff’sclaims. Intervention: A proced ure used in a lawsuit by which the court allows a third person who was not originally a party to the suit to become a party, by joining with either the plaintiff or the defendant. Intestacy: The state or condition of dying without having made a valid will or without having disposed by will of a segment of the property of the decedent. GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION 124 INTERNAL REVENUE CODE DICTIONARY OF LEGAL TERMS Intestate: The description of a person who dies without making a valid will or the reference made to this condition. Intestate succession: The inheritance of an ancestor’s property according to the laws of descent and distribution that are applied when the deceased has not executed a valid will. Intoxication: A state in which a person’ s normal capacity to act or reason is inhibited by alcohol or drugs. Intrinsic evidence: Informationnecessaryforthedeterminationofanissueinalawsuitthatis gleaned from the provisions of a document itself, as opposed to testimony from a witness or the terms of other writings that have not been admitted by the court for consideration by the trier of fact. Inure: To result; to take effect; to be of use, benefit, or advantage to an individual. Invalid: Null; void; without force or effect; lacking in authority. Inventory: An itemized list of property that contains a description of each specific article. Investiture: In ecclesiastical law, one of t he formalities by which an archbishop confirms the election of a bishop. During the feudal ages, the rite by which an overlord granted a portion of his lands to his vassal. Investment: The placement of a particular sum of money in business ventures, real estate, or securities of a permanent nature so that it will produce an income. Invitation: The act by which an owner or occupier of particular land or premises encourages or attracts others to enter, remain in, or otherwise make use of his or her property. Invitee: An individual who enters another’spremisesasaresultofanexpressorimplied invitation of the owner or occupant for their mutual gain or benefit. Invoice: An itemized statement or written account o f goods sent to a purchaser or consignee by a vendor that indicates the quantity and price of each piece of merchandise shipped. Involuntary confession: An admission, especially by an individual who has been accused of a crime, that is not freely offered but rather is precipitated by a threat, fear, torture, or a promise. Involuntary manslaughter: The act of unlawfully killing another human being unintentionally. Involuntary servitude: SLAVERY; the condition of an ind ividual who works fo r another individual against his or her will as a result of force, coercion, or imprisonment, regardless of whether the individual is paid for the labor. Ipse dixit: [Latin, He himself said it.] An unsupported statement that rests solely on the authority of the individual who makes it. Ipso facto: [Latin, By the fact itself; by the mere fact.] Irreconcilable differences: The existence of significant differences between a married couple that are so great and beyond resolution as to make the marriage unworkable, and for which the law permits a divorce. Irregularity: A d efect, failure, or mistake in a legal proceeding or lawsuit; a departure from a prescribed rule or regulation. GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION DICTIONARY OF LEGAL TERMS IRREGULARITY 125 Irrelevant: Unrelated or inapplicable to the matter in issue. Irreparable injury: Any harm or loss that i s not easily repaired, restored, or compensated by monetary damages. A serious wrong, generally of a repeated and continuing nature, that has an equitable remedy of injunctive relief. Irresistible impulse: A test applied in a criminal prosecution to determine whether a person accused of a crime was compelled by a mental diseasetocommititandthereforecannotbe held criminally responsible for her or his actions; in a WRONGFUL DEATH case, a compulsion to commit suicide created by the defendant. Irretrievable breakdown of marriage: The situation that exists when either or both spouses no longer are able or willing to live with each other, thereby destroying their HUSBAND AND WIFE relationship with no hope of resumption of spousal duties. Irrevocable: Unable to cancel or recall; that which is unalterable or irreversible. IRS: Abbreviation for INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE. Island: A land area surrounded by water and remaining above sea level during high tide. Issue: To promulgate or send out. In a lawsuit, a disputed point of law or QUESTION OF FACT,set forth in the pleadings, that is alleged by one party and denied by the other. In the law governing the transfer or distribution of property, a child, children, and all individuals who descend from a common ancestor or descendents of any degree. Issue preclusion: A concept that refers to the fact that a particular QUESTION OF FACT or law, one that has already been fully litigated by the parties in an action for which there h as been a judgment on the merits, cannot be relitigated in any future action involving the same parties or their privies (persons who would be boun d by the judgment rendered for the party). Itemize: To individually state each item or article. Jactitation: Deceitful boasting, a deceptive claim, or a continuing assertion prejudicial to the right of another. Jail: A building designated or regularly used for the confinement of individuals who are sentenced for minor crimes or who are unable to gain release on bail and are in custody awaiting trial. Jailhouse lawyer: Jailhouse lawyer is a term applied to prison inmates with some knowledge of law who give legal advice and assistance to their fellow inmates. J.D.: An abbreviation for Juris Doctor, the degree awarded to an individual upon the successful completion of law school. Jeopardy: Danger; hazard; peril. In a criminal action, the danger of conviction and punishment confronting the defendant. Jetsam: The casting overboard of g oods from a vessel, by its owner, under exigent circumstances in order to provide for the safety of the ship by lightening its cargo load. J GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION 126 IRRELEVANT DICTIONARY OF LEGAL TERMS . The formal accusation of a criminal offense made by a public official; the sworn, written accusation of a crime. GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION DICTIONARY OF LEGAL TERMS INFORMATION. state or condition of dying without having made a valid will or without having disposed by will of a segment of the property of the decedent. GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION 124. company or firm by a member of its own staff to determine the accuracy and acceptability of its accounting practices. GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION DICTIONARY OF LEGAL TERMS INTERNAL