hotchpot

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hotch·pot

(hŏch′pŏt′)

n. Law

The grouping together of various properties, that may have different origins or statuses, for the purpose of determining how best to accomplish an equal division of the aggregate, as in an intestate estate with several heirs or the settlement of a divorce in a community property state.

[Middle English hochepot, from Old French, mixture, stew : hocher, to shake together; see hotch + pot, pot.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

hotchpot

(ˈhɒtʃˌpɒt)

(Law) property law the collecting of property so that it may be redistributed in equal shares, esp on the intestacy of a parent who has given property to his children in his lifetime

[C14: from Old French hochepot, from hocher to shake, of Germanic origin + pot¹]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

hotch•pot

(ˈhɒtʃˌpɒt)

n.

a gathering together of the property of a person who has died intestate so that it can be divided equally among the decedent's legal heirs.

[1250–1300; Middle English hochepot < Anglo-French, literally, shake-pot =hoche(r) to shake (Old French hochier < Germanic) + pot pot¹]

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References in periodicals archive ?

[A]ll the powers of government, of which a partition is so carefully made among the several branches, would be thrown into absolute hotchpot, and exposed to a general scramble.").

Territorial annexation as a "great power"

1231 gains and losses are subjected to the "hotchpot" process (i.e., put into a pool and netted) and treated as cither capital gains or ordinary losses.

Condemnation of pipeline easements: the landowner's perspective

2012) ("Some wills expressly provide for lifetime advances by a hotchpot clause."); see also Elbert, supra note 186, at 679-81 (discussing will provisions that charge advancements).