The Orphan's Court
The orphan's court was an organization established in the Chesapeake Bay colonies during colonization. The major goal of the organization was to protect orphaned children and their right to their deceased family's estate from claims and against abuses by stepparents and others.
Modern-day orphan's courts are surrogate courts, hearing matters involving wills of decedents' estates which are contested and supervising estates which are probated judicially.
Read more about this topic: Probate Court
Famous quotes containing the words orphan and/or court:
“The obvious parallels between Star Wars and The Wizard of Oz have frequently been noted: in both there is the orphan hero who is raised on a farm by an aunt and uncle and yearns to escape to adventure. Obi-wan Kenobi resembles the Wizard; the loyal, plucky little robot R2D2 is Toto; C3PO is the Tin Man; and Chewbacca is the Cowardly Lion. Darth Vader replaces the Wicked Witch: this is a patriarchy rather than a matriarchy.”
—Andrew Gordon, U.S. educator, critic. “The Inescapable Family in American Science Fiction and Fantasy Films,” Journal of Popular Film and Television (Summer 1992)
“We should have learnt by now that laws and court decisions can only point the way. They can establish criteria of right and wrong. And they can provide a basis for rooting out the evils of bigotry and racism. But they cannot wipe away centuries of oppression and injustice—however much we might desire it.”
—Hubert H. Humphrey (1911–1978)