COPYHOLD

in Great Britain {is customary tenure in which the copyholder is entitled to the property subject to the performance of certain duties. The rights and duties of copyholders vary according to the particular manor to which they are attached. The owners can generally dispose of their property by will, and if they die intestate, it descends to the customary heir, who may, or may not, be the same as the heir-atlaw. On the death of a copyholder intestate, and without heirs, the property excheats, not to the crown, but to the lord of the manor.