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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §22.3.15.pr

Inheritance Lawsuit Against a False Son and Receipts

Passage 3233 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

In response to whether brothers can bring an inheritance lawsuit against a man who falsely claimed to be a son and occupied the estate, it is answered that the receipt given for the paid trust-bequest does not confirm his status, and they can sue if they prove he is not the son.

[MODESTINUS libro duodecimo responsorum. ] §22.3.15.prQuidam quasi ex Seia susceptus a Gaio Seio, cum Gaius fratres haberet, hereditatem Gaii inuasit et fratribus eiusdem quasi ex mandatu defuncti fideicommissa soluit.
[MODESTINUS, in the twelfth book of Responses.] A certain man, as if born of Seia and acknowledged by Gaius Seius, although Gaius had brothers, seized the inheritance of Gaius, and paid trust-bequests to the brothers of the same as if by the instruction of the deceased.
cautionem accepit: qui postea cognito, quod filius fratris eorum non fuisset, quaerebant, an cum eo de hereditate fratris possint, propter emissam manum ab eis quasi filio, agere.
He received a written acknowledgment of receipt. Later, having learned that he had not been the son of their brother, the brothers asked whether, despite the document signed and delivered by them as if to a son, they could bring an action against him concerning their brother's inheritance.
Modestinus respondit cautione exsoluti fideicommissi statum eius, qui probari potest a fratribus defuncti filius mortui non esse, minime confirmatum esse: sed hoc ipsum a fratribus probari debet.
Modestinus replied that by the acknowledgment of the paid trust-bequest, the status of him who can be proved by the brothers of the deceased not to be the son of the dead man is by no means confirmed; but this very fact must be proved by the brothers.

Notes

  1. §22.3.15.premissam manum — In connection with the preceding 'cautionem accepit', the phrase means 'the delivery of a signed document (receipt)'. 'Manus' refers to 'handwriting' or 'signature', and 'emittere' to 'deliver'. It is distinct from the manumission of a slave (manumissio).
  2. §22.3.15.prqui — This is a relative connection (at the beginning of a clause) in the nominative plural, referring back to the preceding 'fratribus' as its antecedent. It serves as the subject of the main verb 'quaerebant'.
  3. §22.3.15.prcautione exsoluti fideicommissi — The genitive phrase 'exsoluti fideicommissi' (of the paid trust-bequest) modifies the ablative 'cautione' (by the receipt), forming an ablative phrase of instrument or cause.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §22.3.15.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:22.3.15.pr

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