Coverture
An archaic term and concept from English common law that described the legal status of a married woman as being merged with that of her husband, and the wife being dependent upon the husband and lacking the ability to manage her own affairs. In the 1969 Arizona case of Harber’s Estate, the Arizona Court of Appeals declared this term to be utterly obsolete in Arizona, with women being recognized as independent human beings.
See also During Coverture.