The most important doctrine that operated with regard to women and property was the distinction between a woman as a chattel and a woman as an individual person with freestanding rights to property ownership and decision making. Prior to the enactment of various women's property laws in the United States in the mid-nineteenth century, most legislation with respect to a woman's dealings with both land and income were settled by a number of well established common law principles. The process by which laws are enacted in New York today is essentially unchanged from 1848. "Married Women's Property Laws" 2006 〈〉 (accessed June 19, 2006).Ībout the Author: Legislative power in the State of New York is vested in two elected houses, the Assembly and the Senate, subject to veto by the governor.
By: Senate and Assembly of the State of New York