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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §28.6.35.pr

Possession against the Will and Legacies of the Substitute

Passage 4307 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

The text discusses how the liability for legacies of a pupillary substitute is adjusted (increased or decreased) depending on the changes in the estate's distribution resulting from the possession of goods contrary to the will.

[IDEM libro quinto quaestionum. ] §28.6.35.prEtsi contra tabulas patris petita sit a pupillo bonorum possessio, in substitutum tamen eius actionem legati dandam esse ita, ut augeantur praeter ea quod filius extraneis non debuerit.
[THE SAME, from the Fifth Book of Questions.] if possession of goods contrary to the tablets of the father has been demanded by the pupil, an action for a legacy must nevertheless be granted against his substitute in such a way that the legacies are increased, except for that which the son would not have owed to outsiders.
sic et crescere a substituto data legata, si per bonorum possessionem plus ad filium peruenisset, quemadmodum et ipse filius plus exceptis deberet.
In the same way, the legacies given by the substitute also increase if more had come to the son through the possession of goods, just as the son himself would have owed more, with the exceptions deducted.
his consequens esse existimo, ut, si impubes ex asse scriptus sit et per bonorum possessionem semis ei ablatus sit, substitutus in partem legati nomine exoneretur, ut, quemadmodum portio, quae per bonorum possessionem accesserit, auget legata, ita et hic quae abscesserit minuat.
From this I think it follows that, if the impuber was appointed heir to the whole estate and half of it was taken from him through the possession of goods, the substitute should be discharged in part in respect of the legacy, so that, just as the portion which accrued through the possession of goods increases the legacies, so also here that which was lost should diminish them.

Notes

  1. §28.6.35.prdandam esse — The main governing verb is implied from the context of legal response (such as respondeo), making 'dandam esse' and the subsequent 'crescere' part of an accusative with infinitive (AcI) construction.
  2. §28.6.35.prpraeter ea quod — 'ea' is a neuter plural accusative, meaning 'except for those things which/the extent to which'. Here it refers to deducting the portion of legacies that the son was freed from paying to outsiders due to the possession of goods contrary to the will.
  3. §28.6.35.prexceptis — An ablative absolute utilizing the neuter plural 'excepta' used substantively. It means 'with the exceptions (such as legal deductions) having been deducted', referring to deductions like those under the Lex Falcidia.
  4. §28.6.35.prex asse — An expression based on 'as', the unit of the entire estate in Roman law (12/12). It denotes being appointed as heir to the entire estate (sole heir).

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §28.6.35.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:28.6.35.pr

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