Abandonment

Abandonment means leaving something or someone behind and deciding not to come back. It means stopping care, use, or responsibility for something — on purpose.

It refers to the act of voluntarily giving up a right, property, or relationship without intention to return or reclaim what was abandoned.

It can apply to various areas such as family law, property law, and civil procedure.

• For example, in matrimonial law, abandonment occurs when one spouse ends the cohabitation without justification, consent, or intention of renewing the marital relationship.
• In property law, abandonment refers to the voluntary and intentional discarding of a known right, such as leaving an item on the street with a "free" sign, which may indicate that the owner has given up their rights to it.
• In civil procedure, abandonment can occur when a plaintiff does not take any steps towards their lawsuit within a statutory period, leading to the case being dismissed.

Abandonment can also refer to the act of surrendering a claim to, or interest in, a particular asset, such as allowing an options contract to expire unexercised.