In Louisiana law, extra-dotal property is that property which forms no part of the dowry of a woman (which would mean that her husband has certain rights to itSee Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure, Article 969.), but is hers alone.Henry C. Black, Black's Law Dictionary, rev. 4th ed. 1968, p. 697, citing former Civil Code of Louisiana, Article 2335.Fleitas v. Richardson, 147 U.S. 550, 553, 37 L.Ed. 276, 13 S.Ct. 495 ("Dotal property is that which the wife brings to the husband to assist him in bearing the expenses of the marriage establishment. Extradotal property . . . is that which forms no part of the dowry."). It is also called "paraphernal property",Black, Black's Law Dictionary, rev. 4th ed. 1968, p. 697.Fleitas v. Richardson, 147 U.S. at 553. from the Greek for "beyond the dowry", which gives us the word "paraphernalia".American Heritage Dictionary.
The United States Supreme Court determined the extent and effect of extradotal law on the rights of married women in Louisiana in the case of Fleitas v. Richardson.
References
External links Fleitas v. Richardson.