To consider, to plan, to think carefully about doing something.
Law Dictionary – Alternative Legal Definition
The act of the mind in considering with attention. Continued attention of the mind to a particular subject. Consideration of an act or series of acts with the intention of doing or adopting them. The consideration of an event or state of facts with the expectation that it will transpire. Contemplation of bankruptcy. Contemplation of the breaking up of one’s business or an inability to continue it; knowledge of, and action with reference to, a condition of bankruptcy or ascertained insolvency, coupled with an intention to commit what the law declares to be an “act of bankruptcy,” or to make provision against the consequences of insolvency, or to defeat the general distribution of assets which would take place under a proceeding in bankruptcy. Contemplation of death. The apprehension or expectation of approaching dissolution; not that general expectation which every mortal entertains, hut the apprehension which arises from some presently existing sickness or physical condition or from some impending danger. As applied to transfers of property, the phrase “in contemplation of death is practically equivalent to “causa mortis.” In re Cornell’s Estate, 66 App. Div. 162, 73 N. Y. Supp. 32; In re Edgerton’s Estate, 35 App. Div. 125, 54 N. Y. Supp. 700; In re Baker s Estate, 83 App. Div. 530, 82 N. Y. Supp. 390. Contemplation of insolvency. Knowledge of, and action with reference to, an existing or contemplated state of insolvency, with a design to make provision against its results or to defeat the operation of the insolvency laws.