Definition
A Latin term meaning "during." In legal usage, durante functions primarily as a word of limitation — a term that defines the duration or continuance of a legal estate, right, appointment, or obligation. It appears most frequently as the first word of a Latin phrase that qualifies how long something lasts, most often in the context of estate administration, property conveyances, and official tenure.
Principal phrases in legal use:
1. DURANTE VITA — During life. Used in conveyances and grants to describe an estate or interest lasting for the lifetime of a specified person.
2. DURANTE VIDUITATE (also durante viduitatis) — During widowhood. A limitation confining an estate or allowance to the period in which the holder remains a widow.
3. DURANTE VIRGINITATE — During virginity. A rare limitation restricting an interest to the period of the holder's unmarried and chaste state.
4. DURANTE ABSENTIA — During absence. Used in the law of estate administration to describe letters of administration granted when the executor or principal administrator is absent and the estate requires immediate attention. In some jurisdictions, an administrator durante absentia is appointed to manage the estate until the proper party appears.
5. DURANTE BENE PLACITO — During good pleasure. Describes an appointment or tenure that continues only at the will of the appointing authority, as opposed to tenure during good behavior (quamdiu se bene gesserit). Historically applied to certain judicial and official appointments to signal that the office-holder served at the Crown's pleasure rather than for a fixed term.
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Common Language
Modern common usage (Wiktionary): Durante is not a standard English word; it is borrowed from Latin and Italian. In English, it appears almost exclusively in legal and formal historical contexts.
Historical common usage (Webster's 1913): "During; as, durante vita, during life; durante bene placito, during pleasure."
Editorial note: Because durante has no independent life in ordinary modern English, there is no meaningful gap between common and legal usage to navigate. The term is functional Latin, intelligible only through its accompanying phrase. Researchers encountering it in documents should focus on identifying which compound phrase is being used, not on the word itself in isolation.
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Common Confusion
Durante bene placito and durante bene gesserit (or quamdiu se bene gesserit) are occasionally conflated but carry opposite meanings. Durante bene placito means the appointment lasts at the pleasure of the grantor — it is terminable at will. Tenure during good behavior means the appointment continues as long as the holder acts properly — it is terminable only for cause. The distinction was constitutionally significant in English legal history, where the shift of judicial tenure from bene placito to good behavior was a hard-won protection against Crown interference. Researchers analyzing pre-Act of Settlement judicial appointments should confirm which formulation applies.
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Why It Matters in Research
Durante phrases appear across multiple distinct areas of the Law Mind corpus, and conflating them produces research errors.
In property and conveyancing records, durante vita and durante viduitate are words of limitation that define the scope of an estate. An estate granted durante viduitate terminates automatically on remarriage; no court action is required. Researchers working with historical deeds, marriage settlements, or dower arrangements must distinguish these from life estates without qualification.
In estate administration records, durante absentia is a distinct grant of letters of administration. It creates a temporary, purpose-limited administration — not a full administration — and the authority it confers may be narrower than general letters. Researchers tracing the administration of a particular estate may find multiple administrators in sequence: one appointed durante absentia, another appointed once the executor appears or the full proceedings resume.
In constitutional and public law history, durante bene placito carries significant freight. Before the Act of Settlement 1701, English judges held their offices durante bene placito — at royal pleasure. The Act shifted judicial tenure to good behavior. This distinction recurs in historical legal commentary and in comparative constitutional scholarship. A researcher who misreads a pre-1701 appointment as providing secure tenure will misunderstand the political context entirely.
The Latin forms vary in historical sources. Spelling inconsistencies (viduitate vs. viduitatis, viduitate vs. viduatate) appear in older manuscripts and printed reports. Do not reject a document as inauthentic or assume a different meaning solely on the basis of minor orthographic variation.
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Historical Dictionary Support
The historical dictionaries are in close agreement on the core meaning. Black's (both editions), Burrill, and Anderson all define durante as a Latin word of limitation meaning "during," and all cite the same primary compounds: durante vita, durante viduitate, durante virginitate. Burrill and Black's first edition cite Littleton section 234b for the foundational authority.
Black's second edition adds meaningful coverage of durante absentia and durante bene placito, expanding the term's administrative and constitutional dimensions. Anderson's entry fragments in the available source text but plainly treats durante absentia as a distinct administrative category tied to the appointment of administrators.
What the historical dictionaries do not address: the constitutional implications of durante bene placito as a form of judicial tenure insecurity, and the practical effects of durante absentia administration on creditor claims and estate priorities. Researchers relying solely on dictionary entries will find adequate definitions but will need to consult treatises on estate administration and constitutional history for operational context.
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Jurisdictional Note
Durante absentia administration exists in some U.S. jurisdictions but not all; its availability and scope are governed by state probate statutes, which vary considerably. The term is more likely to appear in older probate records and decisions than in modern practice. In English law, the phrase retains historical significance but has been substantially displaced by modern statutory administration frameworks.
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Encyclopedia Cross-Reference
Law Mind Encyclopedia — Administration of Estates (for durante absentia)
Law Mind Encyclopedia — Limitation of Estates (for durante vita, durante viduitate)
Law Mind Encyclopedia — Judicial Independence (for durante bene placito and the Act of Settlement)
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