Law LibraryLegal Dictionary – W (Page 2)

Legal Definitions – W (Page 2)

Will – A written communication by a person stating how they want their property disposed of at death. See Also: Common Will Terms, Changing Your Will, Witness to a Will

Will Amendment – The addition of new provisions to a will, or the deletion of existing provisions from a will without creating a completely new will.

Will Contest – A legal proceeding challenging the validity of a will or its terms.

Will Substitute – A legal mechanism that allows a person to transfer their property to a beneficiary without undergoing the state probate process. Under this mechanism, the title to the asset may be distributed to the beneficiary while the estate holder is still alive.

Willful Blindness – A situation where a person intentionally avoids learning of facts or occurrences so as to avoid criminal or civil liability despite being aware of a high probability of illegal conduct.

Wire Fraud – A federal crime in which the perpetrator uses interstate wire communications facilities to carry out a scheme to defraud.

Work Accidents – Unintentional injuries that occur at the workplace or while on the job in connection to the person’s line of work.

Work at Home Fraud – A form of fraud in which the scam artists place an ad offering people an opportunity to work from home for a company and requiring them to pay an upfront cost for supplies that are required to engage in the work, prompting the victims to pay a lot of money for supplies that they will never receive.

Work for Hire Clause – An employment contract clause that entitles the employer to take ownership of all ideas, innovations, and discoveries made by the employee.

Work Permit – A document that can be used by someone who is not a citizen or lawful permanent resident to prove they may work in the United States. It is officially called an Employment Authorization Document (EAD).

Work Product – Anything created by an employee that becomes property of the employer under certain conditions.

Work Records – Documents and data that are compiled by employers regarding their employees, including financial statements and immigration documents.

Work-Related Injury – An injury that is caused by one’s work tasks or that results from the performance of their described job duties.

Worker’s Compensation – A state-mandated insurance program that provides compensation to employees who suffer job-related injuries. See Also: Workplace Injuries and Non-Workers Compensation Claims , Medical Treatment for Workers Compensation, Workers Compensation Coverage

Workforce Reduction – A situation in which an employer institutes a mass termination of employees in efforts to reduce costs. It is also known as downsizing.

Workplace Disciplinary Policies – Policies set up by employers to provide guidance as to how employees should conduct themselves in the workplace.

Workplace Dress Code – A set of rules that dictate how employees are supposed to appear while in the workplace. These rules must not violate anti-discrimination laws.

Workplace Privacy – Privacy that an employee can reasonably expect in a workplace, including privacy from their own employer.

Wrap-Around Mortgage – A type of loan wherein a borrower takes out a second mortgage loan to help guarantee payments on their original mortgage. The borrower makes payments on both of the mortgages to the new lender, who is called the “wrap-around” lender, and the new lender makes payments on the original mortgage to the original lender.

Wrongful Birth – A tort action that parents of a disabled child bring against their doctor for failing to properly warn them about the risk they faced of giving birth to a disabled child.

Wrongful Conception – A tort claim brought by parents for the negligently-caused birth of a healthy child, often against a birth control manufacturer for failed birth control or a doctor for a failed sterilization procedure.

Wrongful Death Lawsuit – A lawsuit brought by a family member of the deceased victim against the person who caused the death.

Wrongful Eviction – An eviction of a tenant by a landlord who did not follow the state and city statutory requirements for eviction.

Wrongful Interference with Employment Relationship – A situation in which a person other than an employer intentionally and wrongfully interferes with another person’s employment relationship, thereby causing the other person to lose his/her job.

Wrongful Prosecution – The tortious act of intentionally subjecting a person to criminal proceedings that are based upon false information. This is also known as malicious prosecution.

Wrongful Repudiation of Insurance Policy – The illegal action by an insurance company of unilaterally canceling or denying the existence of a health, life, automobile, or property insurance policy.

Wrongful Termination – A situation in which an employer terminates an employee’s employment contract in a manner that breaches one or more terms of the contract or a state or federal employment law. It is also known as wrongful discharge and wrongful dismissal. See Also: Wrongful Termination and Workplace Disputes , Wrongful Termination for Seeking Worker’s Compensation, Filing a Wrongful Termination Claim

Wrongful Withholding of a Security Deposit – The illegal retention of a security deposit by a landlord without providing the tenant with a written account of why they are retaining the deposit.