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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §28.2.25.pr-28.2.25.1

Mistaken Disinherison and Institution of Great-Grandchild

Passage 4146 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

The text determines how to address an alleged error regarding the disinheritance of children in a testament, and evaluates the validity of instituting a great-grandson as heir when he was born on the morning of the day the testament was written.

[IDEM libro duodecimo responsorum. ]
[IDEM libro duodecimo responsorum.] The same [Paulus], in the twelfth book of Opinions.
§28.2.25.prTitius testamento heredem instituit et filium habens sic exheredationem posuit: 'ceteri omnes filii filiaeque meae exheredes sunto'. Paulus respondit filium recte exheredatum uideri.
Titius instituted an heir in his testament, and having a son, he formulated the disinheriting clause as follows: "Let all my other sons and daughters be disinherited." Paulus replied that the son seemed to be legally disinherited.
postea consultus, an uideatur exheredatus, quem pater putauit decessisse, respondit filios et filias nominatim exheredatos proponi: de errore autem patris, qui intercessisse proponitur, apud iudicem agi oportere.
Afterwards, being consulted on whether a son whom his father believed to have died should be considered disinherited, he replied that the sons and daughters are presented as disinherited by name; however, regarding the error of the father, which is alleged to have occurred, the matter ought to be litigated before a judge.
§28.2.25.1Lucius Titius cum suprema sua ordinaret in ciuitate et haberet neptem ex filia praegnatem rure agentem, scripsit id quod in utero haberet ex parte heredem: quaero, cum ipsa die, qua Titius ordinaret testamentum in ciuitate hora diei sexta, eodem die albescente caelo rure sit enixa Maeuia masculum, an institutio heredis ualeat, cum, quo tempore scriberetur testamentum, iam editus esset partus.
When Lucius Titius was arranging his last wishes in the city and had a pregnant granddaughter by his daughter living in the country, he wrote that what she had in her womb should be heir to a share. I ask, since on the very day Titius was arranging his testament in the city at the sixth hour, on the same day at dawn Maevia gave birth to a male child in the country, whether the institution of the heir is valid, considering that at the time the testament was written, the child had already been born.
Paulus respondit uerba quidem testamenti ad eum pronepotem directa uideri, qui post testamentum factum nasceretur: sed si, ut proponitur, eadem die qua testamentum factum est neptis testatoris antequam testamentum scriberetur enixa esset, licet ignorante testatore, tamen institutionem iure factam uideri recte responderi.
Paulus replied that the words of the testament indeed seem to be directed toward that great-grandson who would be born after the testament was made; but if, as is proposed, on the very day the testament was made, the testator's granddaughter had given birth before the testament was written, even if the testator was ignorant of it, it is nevertheless correct to reply that the institution seems to have been legally made.

Notes

  1. §28.2.25.prnominatim — Although the text uses a general category 'ceteri omnes filii...', in legal terms, this is considered equivalent to being disinherited "by name" (nominatim).
  2. §28.2.25.1albescente caelo — An ablative absolute meaning "as the sky whitened" or "at dawn." It establishes that the birth occurred temporally prior to the drafting of the testament, which took place at the "sixth hour" (around noon) of the same day.
  3. §28.2.25.1recte responderi — This is an infinitive passive construction (`recte responderi`, "it is correctly answered") nested within the indirect speech introduced by the main verb `respondit`. The subject of `responderi` is the accusative and infinitive clause `institutionem... uideri`.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §28.2.25.pr-28.2.25.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:28.2.25.pr-28.2.25.1

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