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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §28.3.3.pr-28.3.3.6

Rupture of Wills by Posthumous Children and Disinherison

Passage 4157 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Ulpian discusses the requirement of disinheriting posthumous children by name to prevent them from rupturing a testament, the distinction between a testament being invalid or ruptured, and instances where only a part of a testament is ruptured.

[IDEM libro tertio ad Sabinum. ] §28.3.3.prPostumi per uirilem sexum descendentes ad similitudinem filiorum nominatim exheredandi sunt, ne testamentum adgnascendo rumpant.
[THE SAME from the third book on Sabinus.] Posthumous children descending through the male line must, like children already born, be disinherited by name, lest they rupture the testament by their subsequent birth.
§28.3.3.1Postumos autem dicimus eos dumtaxat, qui post mortem parentis nascuntur. sed et hi, qui post testamentum factum in uita nascuntur, ita demum per legem Uelleam rumpere testamentum prohibentur, si nominatim sint exheredati.
Now, we call those "posthumous" strictly who are born after the death of the parent; but even those who are born during the lifetime of the testator after the testament has been made are prohibited by the Lex Velleia from rupturing the testament only if they have been disinherited by name.
§28.3.3.2Unde etiam ante heredis institutionem uel inter medias heredum institutiones uel inter gradus exheredari possunt: nam diuus Marcus decreuit idem in postumo quod in filio seruandum, nec ratio diuersitatis reddi potest.
Hence they can be disinherited even before the institution of an heir, or between the institutions of heirs, or between the degrees of substitution; for the deified Marcus decreed that the same rule should be observed in the case of a posthumous child as in the case of a child already born, and no reason for a difference can be given.
§28.3.3.3Ex his apparet aliam causam esse filiorum superstitum, aliam posteriorum: illi iniustum faciunt, hi rumpunt, illi semper, hi, si nascantur nec inueniant se exheredatos.
From this it is clear that the case of surviving children is one thing, and that of subsequent children another: the former make the testament invalid, the latter rupture it; the former always, the latter if they are born and do not find themselves disinherited.
§28.3.3.4Sed et si sit ante hoc aliud testamentum, a quo postumus exheredatus sit, placet, siue post mortem testatoris nascatur siue uiuo testatore, utrumque ruptum esse et superius per inferius et inferius per postumum.
But even if there is another prior testament before this one, from which the posthumous child was disinherited, it is held that, whether the child is born after the death of the testator or during the testator's lifetime, both testaments are ruptured: the prior by the subsequent, and the subsequent by the posthumous child.
§28.3.3.5Nominatim autem exheredatus postumus uidetur, siue ita dixerit: 'quicumque mihi nasceretur', siue ita: 'ex Seia', siue ita: 'uenter exheres esto'. sed et si dixerit: 'postumus exheres esto', natus uel post mortem uel uiuo testatore non rumpet.
A posthumous child is deemed to be disinherited by name, whether the testator said: "Whoever may be born to me," or: "by Seia," or: "let the child in the womb be disinherited." But even if he said: "let the posthumous child be disinherited," the child born either after his death or during the lifetime of the testator will not rupture it.
§28.3.3.6Licet autem postumus praeteritus adgnascendo rumpat, tamen interdum euenit, ut pars testamenti rumpatur: ut puta si proponas a primo gradu postumum exheredatum, a secundo praeteritum: nam hic primus gradus ualet, secundus ruptus est.
Although a passed-over posthumous child ruptures the testament by subsequent birth, yet it sometimes happens that only a part of the testament is ruptured: as for instance, if you suppose that a posthumous child was disinherited in the first degree, but passed over in the second; for here the first degree is valid, but the second is ruptured.

Notes

  1. §28.3.3.pradgnascendo — Ablative of the gerund of adgnasci (to be born into a family as an additional member). It denotes the acquisition of patria potestas by subsequent birth.
  2. §28.3.3.3iniustum faciunt, hi rumpunt — This contrasts two different ways a testament becomes invalid. If surviving children (filiorum superstitum) are passed over, the testament is "unjust" (iniustum) from the beginning due to an initial defect. If posthumous children (posteriorum) are passed over, they "rupture" (rumpunt) an initially valid testament by their subsequent birth.
  3. §28.3.3.4superius per inferius et inferius per postumum — The noun testamentum is understood in each case. The "prior" (superius, literally "higher") testament is ruptured by the "subsequent" (inferius, literally "lower") one, which in turn is ruptured by the subsequent birth of the posthumous child (postumum).
  4. §28.3.3.6a primo gradu postumum exheredatum, a secundo praeteritum — An accusative with infinitive construction governed by proponas ("suppose"), with esse omitted in both clauses (exheredatum [esse] and praeteritum [esse]). The term gradus (step, degree) refers to the primary institution of heirs (first degree) and the secondary/conditional institution of heirs (second degree) in case the first fails.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §28.3.3.pr-28.3.3.6. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:28.3.3.pr-28.3.3.6

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