What is "marriage settlement"

Marriage \Mar"riage\, n. [OE. mariage, F. mariage. See Marry, v. t.]

1. The act of marrying, or the state of being married; legal union of a man and a woman for life, as husband and wife; wedlock; matrimony.

   Marriage is honorable in all.
   --Heb. xiii. 4.

2. The marriage vow or contract. [Obs.]
   --Chaucer.

3. A feast made on the occasion of a marriage.

   The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king which made a marriage for his son.
   --Matt. xxii. 2.

4. Any intimate or close union.

5. In pinochle, b['e]zique, and similar games at cards, the combination of a king and queen of the same suit. If of the trump suit, it is called a royal marriage. Marriage brokage.

   1. The business of bringing about marriages.

   2. The payment made or demanded for the procurement of a marriage.

      Marriage favors, knots of white ribbons, or bunches of white flowers, worn at weddings.

      Marriage settlement (Law), a settlement of property in view, and in consideration, of marriage.

      Syn: Matrimony; wedlock; wedding; nuptials.

      Usage: Marriage, Matrimony, Wedlock. Marriage is properly the act which unites the two parties, and matrimony the state into which they enter. Marriage is, however, often used for the state as well as the act. Wedlock is the old Anglo-Saxon term for matrimony.

n. a prenuptial agreement or contract [syn: marriage contract]

A marriage settlement in England was a historic arrangement whereby most commonly and in its simplest form a trust of land or other assets was established jointly by the parents of a bride and bridegroom, with the trustees as legal owners of the assets, and the bride and bridegroom as beneficial owners of the assets during their lifetimes, and after their deaths with beneficial ownership descending to one or more of the children of the union. The marriage settlement should not be confused with the modern prenuptial agreement, which is concerned mainly with the division of assets after divorce.