Enoch Arden Laws

A law that provides presumption of death and permission for a spouse's remarriage after one has been inexplicably absent for a set period of years, usually seven.

Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote in 1864 a poem called 'Enoch Arden' (once required reading in many literature classes) concerning a sailor whose shipwreck kept him from his wife and children for ten years; on his return, he found that his wife, presuming him dead, had married his best friend. Many states and nations now have what speakers of English call Enoch Arden laws.

3👍 2👎