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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §29.2.98.pr

Sole Heir's Liability after Others Abstain by Imperial Favour

Passage 4501 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

A testatrix died leaving a dowry debt, and after some heirs abstained from the inheritance by imperial benefit, leaving Seia as the sole heir; Scaevola answers that a useful action (utilis actio) should be granted against Seia for the liabilities of the shares of those who abstained, as she chose to accept the entire inheritance with its burdens.

[SCAEUOLA libro uicesimo sexto digestorum. ] §29.2.98.prQuae neptis suae nomine, quam ex Seia habebat, Sempronio tot dotis nomine spoponderat et pro usuris in exhibitionem certam summam praestabat, decessit relicta Seia filia et aliis heredibus: cum quibus Sempronius iudicio egit condemnatique pro portionibus hereditariis singuli heredes, inter quos et Seia, Sempronio cauerunt summam, qua quisque condemnatus erat usuris isdem, quae ad exhibitionem a testatrice praestabantur: postea excepta Seia filia ceteri heredes abstinuerunt hereditate beneficio principis et tota hereditas ad Seiam pertinere coepit.
[SCAEVOLA, from the twenty-sixth book of the Digests.] A certain woman, who had promised a certain amount as dowry to Sempronius on behalf of her granddaughter whom she had by Seia, and was paying a fixed sum for maintenance in lieu of interest, died leaving her daughter Seia and other heirs. Sempronius brought an action against them, and the individual heirs, who were condemned in proportion to their hereditary shares (among whom was also Seia), gave security to Sempronius for the sum for which each had been condemned, with the same interest which was being paid by the testatrix for maintenance. Afterwards, with the exception of the daughter Seia, the other heirs abstained from the inheritance by the benefit of the emperor, and the entire inheritance began to belong to Seia.
quaero, an in Seiam, quae sola heres remansit et omnia ut sola heres erat, pro eorum quoque portionibus, qui beneficio principali hereditate abstinuerint, utilis actio dari debeat.
I ask whether a useful action ought to be granted against Seia, who remained the sole heir and held everything as sole heir, also for the shares of those who abstained from the inheritance by the imperial benefit.
respondit pro parte eorum, qui se abstinuissent, actiones solere decerni in eam, quae adisset et maluisset integra hereditaria onera subire.
He answered that, for the share of those who had abstained, actions are customarily granted against her who had entered upon the inheritance and preferred to undergo the hereditary liabilities in their entirety.

Notes

  1. §29.2.98.prQuae — A relative pronoun without an antecedent, referring to a third-person singular female subject ("a certain woman") who acts as the subject of the main verb decessit.
  2. §29.2.98.promnia ut sola heres erat — In this clause introduced by the conjunction ut ("as"), a verb (such as habebat or retinebat) is omitted. The phrase means "since she held everything as the sole heir."
  3. §29.2.98.prutilis actio — Translated as "useful action" or "equitable action" (utilis actio). It refers to a remedy granted by the praetor by extending the scope of a civil law action based on analogy or equity, even when the strict requirements of civil law were not met.
  4. §29.2.98.printegra hereditaria onera — Meaning "the hereditary liabilities in their entirety." The adjective integra (undamaged, entire) modifies onera (burdens, liabilities) of the inheritance, referring to the situation where one person assumes all the debts due to the abstention of the other heirs.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §29.2.98.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:29.2.98.pr

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