Historically, the
merger
Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of companies, other business organizations, or their operating units are transferred to or consolidated with another company or business organization. As an aspect ...
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 enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
identity to merge with that of her husband.
Thus, a woman could not
sue or
testify
In law and in religion, testimony is a solemn attestation as to the truth of a matter.
Etymology
The words "testimony" and "testify" both derive from the Latin word ''testis'', referring to the notion of a disinterested third-party witness.
La ...
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)
Merger at conveyance
In the law of real property, the merger doctrine stands for the proposition that the contract
A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights ...
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Merger doctrine (trust law)
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Coverture
Coverture (sometimes spelled couverture) was a legal doctrine in the English common law in which a married woman's legal existence was considered to be merged with that of her husband, so that she had no independent legal existence of her own. U ...
Legal doctrines and principles
Family law
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