[IDEM libro octauo decimo ad edictum prouinciale. ] §35.2.73.prIn quantitate patrimonii exquirenda uisum est mortis tempus spectari.
[THE SAME, in the eighteenth book on the Provincial Edict.] In determining the value of an estate, it has been decided that the time of death is to be regarded.
qua de causa si quis centum in bonis habuerit et tota ea legauerit, nihil legatariis prodest, si ante aditam hereditatem per seruos hereditarios aut ex partu ancillarum hereditariarum aut ex fetu pecorum tantum accesserit hereditati, ut centum legatorum nomine erogatis habiturus sit heres quartam partem, sed necesse est, ut nihilo minus quarta pars legatis detrahatur.
For this reason, if anyone has one hundred in his property and has bequeathed the whole of it, it is of no advantage to the legatees if, before the inheritance is entered upon, so much is added to the inheritance through hereditary slaves, or from the offspring of hereditary female slaves, or from the young of flocks, that, even after one hundred has been paid out under the name of legacies, the heir is going to have a fourth part; but it is necessary that, nonetheless, a fourth part be deducted from the legacies.
et ex diuerso, si ex centum septuaginta quinque legauerit et ante aditam hereditatem in tantum decreuerint bona, incendiis forte aut naufragiis aut morte seruorum, ut non plus quam septuaginta quinque uel etiam minus relinquatur, solida legata debentur.
And on the contrary, if he has bequeathed seventy-five out of one hundred, and before the inheritance is entered upon, the estate has decreased to such an extent, by fires perhaps, or by shipwrecks, or by the death of slaves, that no more than seventy-five or even less is left, the legacies are due in full.
nec ea res damnosa est heredi, cui liberum est non adire hereditatem: quae res efficit, ut necesse sit legatariis, ne destituto testamento nihil consequantur, cum herede in portionem legatorum pacisci.
Nor is this matter disadvantageous to the heir, who is free not to enter upon the inheritance; which circumstance makes it necessary for the legatees, lest they obtain nothing if the testament is abandoned, to compromise with the heir for a portion of their legacies.
§35.2.73.1Magna dubitatio fuit de his, quorum condicio mortis tempore pendet, id est an quod sub condicione debetur in stipulatoris bonis adnumeretur et promissoris bonis detrahatur.
There was a great doubt concerning those things whose condition is pending at the time of death, that is, whether what is owed under a condition should be counted in the property of the stipulator and deducted from the property of the promisor.
sed hoc iure utimur, ut, quanti. ea spes obligationis uenire possit, tantum stipulatoris quidem bonis accedere uideatur, promissoris uero decedere.
But we follow this rule of law, that, for as much as that expectation of the obligation can be sold, so much indeed is seen to be added to the property of the stipulator, and to be deducted from that of the promisor.
aut cautionibus res explicari potest, ut duorum alterum fiat, aut ita ratio habeatur, tamquam pure debeatur, aut ita, tamquam nihil debeatur, deinde heredes et legatarii inter se caueant, ut exsistente condicione aut heres reddat, quanto minus soluerit, aut legatarii restituant, quanto plus consecuti sint.
Or the matter can be settled by security, so that one of two things may be done: either the account is held as if it were owed unconditionally, or as if nothing were owed, and then the heirs and the legatees give security to one another, so that upon the existence of the condition, either the heir returns how much less he paid, or the legatees restore how much more they obtained.
§35.2.73.2Sed et si legata quaedam pure, quaedam sub condicione relicta efficiant, ut exsistente condicione lex Falcidia locum habeat, pure legata cum cautione redduntur.
But also if some legacies left unconditionally, and some under a condition, cause the Lex Falcidia to apply upon the existence of the condition, the unconditional legacies are paid with security.
quo casu magis in usu est solui quidem pure legata perinde ac si nulla alia sub condicione legata fuissent, cauere autem legatarios debere ex euentu condicionis quod amplius accepissent redditu iri.
In which case it is more customary that the unconditional legacies indeed be paid just as if no other legacies had been left under a condition, but that the legatees must give security that what they have received in excess will be returned upon the outcome of the condition.
§35.2.73.3Cuius generis cautio necessaria uidetur et si quibusdam seruis eodem testamento sub condicione libertas data sit, quorum pretia condicione exsistente bonis detrahuntur.
A security of this kind seems necessary also if, in the same testament, freedom has been given to certain slaves under a condition, whose values are deducted from the estate upon the existence of the condition.
§35.2.73.4In diem relicta legata alterius esse iuris palam est, cum ea omnimodo tam ipsi legatario quam heredibus eius deberi certum est: sed tanto minus erogari ex bonis intellegendum est, quantum interea, donec dies optingit, heres lucraturus est ex fructibus uel usuris.
It is clear that legacies left to a certain day belong to another rule of law, since it is certain that they are due in any case both to the legatee himself and to his heirs; but it is to be understood that so much less is paid out from the estate as the heir is going to gain in the meantime, until the day arrives, from fruits or interest.
§35.2.73.5Ergo optimum quidem est statim ab initio ita testatorem distribuere legata, ne ultra dodrantem relinquatur.
Therefore, it is indeed best for the testator right from the beginning to distribute the legacies in such a way that not more than three-fourths is left.
quod si excesserit quis dodrantem, pro rata portione per legem ipso iure minuuntur: uerbi gratia si is, qui quadringenta in bonis habuit, tota ea quadringenta erogauerit, quarta pars legatariis detrahitur: si trecenta quinquaginta legauerit, octaua.
But if anyone exceeds three-fourths, they are diminished by the law itself in a proportional share; for example, if he who had four hundred in his property has paid out the whole of that four hundred, a fourth part is deducted from the legatees; if he has bequeathed three hundred and fifty, an eighth part.
quod si quingenta legauerit habens quadringenta, initio quinta, deinde quarta pars debet: ante enim detrahendum est, quod extra bonorum quantitatem est, deinde quod ex bonis apud heredem remanere oportet.
But if he has bequeathed five hundred when he has four hundred, at first a fifth part, and then a fourth part must be deducted; for that which is beyond the quantity of the estate must be deducted first, and then that which ought to remain with the heir out of the estate.