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Simple English definitions for legal terms
Enoch Arden law
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A quick definition of Enoch Arden law:
Enoch Arden law: A law that allows a person to get a divorce or remarry if their spouse has been gone for a certain number of years without any explanation. This law is named after a character in a poem who was stranded on an island for many years and returned home to find his wife had remarried. He kept his identity a secret so she could stay with her new husband. This law is also called the Enoc Arden law and is used when a spouse is presumed dead or has abandoned their partner.
A more thorough explanation:
Enoch Arden law is a legal statute that allows a person to obtain a divorce or be exempted from liability if their spouse has been absent without explanation for a certain number of years, usually five or seven. This law is named after a poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson, where the main character, Enoch Arden, is shipwrecked on a desert island for years and returns home to find that his wife has remarried. He keeps his identity a secret so that she can stay with her new husband.
For example, if a person's spouse disappears without any explanation and is not heard from for seven years, the other person can use the Enoch Arden law to obtain a divorce or remarry without being held liable for bigamy.
The Enoch Arden law is also known as the Presumptive Death law, which assumes that the missing spouse is dead after a certain period of time. This law is useful in cases where a person wants to move on with their life but cannot do so because their spouse is missing.