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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §35.2.80.pr-35.2.80.1

The Falcidian Law Among Substitute Heirs and Indivisible Legacies

Passage 5525 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This section explains the application of the Falcidian law among the substitute heirs of an impuberal son, and discusses the joint liability and remedies via the plea of fraud in cases of indivisible legacies such as rights of way or municipal construction.

[IDEM libro tertio de legatis ad edictum praetoris. ] §35.2.80.prSi is, qui quadringenta in patrimonio habebit, filio impubere herede instituto ducenta legauerit eique Titium et Seium heredes substituerit et a Titio centum legauerit, uideamus, quid iuris sit.
[THE SAME, From the third book on legacies, on the edict of the praetor.] If he who has four hundred in his patrimony, having appointed his impuberal son as heir, should bequeath two hundred, and substitute Titius and Seius as heirs to him, and bequeath one hundred to be paid by Titius, let us see what the law is.
si nondum solutis legatis pupillus decesserit et ob id ea legata utrique debent, solus heres Titius utetur lege Falcidia: cum enim ducenta ex hereditate pupilli ad eum pertineant, ducenta legatorum nomine debet, centum ex ducentis quae pupillus debebat, centum quae ipse dare iussus est: itaque ex utraque quantitate quarta deducta habebit quinquaginta.
If, before the legacies are paid, the pupil dies, and on that account those legacies are owed by both, Titius alone as heir will avail himself of the Falcidian law: for since two hundred from the inheritance of the pupil belongs to him, he owes two hundred under the title of legacies: one hundred out of the two hundred which the pupil owed, and one hundred which he himself was ordered to give; and so, the fourth being deducted from both amounts, he will have fifty.
in persona uero Seii lex Falcidia non interuenit, cum ad eum ex hereditate pupilli ducenta pertineant et debeat legatorum nomine centum ex ducentis, quae a pupillo relicta sunt.
In the person of Seius, however, the Falcidian law does not intervene, since two hundred from the inheritance of the pupil belongs to him, and he owes under the title of legacies one hundred out of the two hundred which were left by the pupil.
quod si pupillus soluat legata, debent curare tutores pupilli, ut caueant legatarii.
But if the pupil should pay the legacies, the tutors of the pupil must take care that the legatees give security.
§35.2.80.1Quaedam legata diuisionem non recipiunt, ut ecce legatum uiae itineris actusue: ad nullum enim ea res pro parte potest pertinere.
Certain legacies do not admit of division, as, for example, the legacy of a way, a path, or a driveway; for such a thing cannot belong to anyone in part.
sed et si opus municipibus heres facere iussus est, indiuiduum uidetur legatum: neque enim ullum balineum aut ullum theatrum aut stadium fecisse intellegitur, qui ei propriam formam, quae ex consummatione contingit, non dederit: quorum omnium legatorum nomine, etsi plures heredes sint, singuli in solidum tenentur.
But even if the heir is ordered to construct a work for the citizens of a municipality, the legacy is deemed to be indivisible: for he is not understood to have built any bath, or any theater, or stadium, who has not given to it its proper form which results from its completion; under the title of all which legacies, even if there are several heirs, each is bound for the whole.
haec itaque legata, quae diuiduitatem non recipiunt, tota ad legatarium pertinent.
These legacies, therefore, which do not admit of division, belong in their entirety to the legatee.
sed potest heredi hoc remedio succurri, ut aestimatione facta legati denuntiet legatario, ut partem aestimationis inferat, si non inferat, utatur aduersus eum exceptione doli mali.
But the heir can be assisted by this remedy: that, having made an estimation of the legacy, he may notify the legatee to bring in a part of the estimation, and if he does not bring it in, the heir may use against him the plea of fraud.

Notes

  1. 35.2.80.prfilio impubere herede instituto — Ablative absolute construction. "impubere" is the ablative singular of the adjective "impubes" (impuberal, under age), agreeing with "filio", which acts as the logical subject of the perfect participle phrase "herede instituto" (having been appointed heir). This sets up the scenario involving the son, later referred to as the pupil ("pupillus").
  2. 35.2.80.prsolus heres Titius utetur lege Falcidia — The Lex Falcidia guarantees that an heir must retain at least one-fourth (quarta) of the inheritance. Co-heir Titius, whose share is 200, owes a total of 200 in legacies (100 inherited from the pupil's debt, plus 100 imposed on him directly). Thus, under the Falcidian law, one-fourth (50) is deducted from his legacy obligations, leaving him with 50. Seius, however, inherits 200 and only owes 100 in legacies, already retaining 100 (which is more than the required 50), so the Falcidian law does not apply to him.
  3. 35.2.80.1singuli in solidum tenentur — "Each is bound for the whole." When an indivisible legacy (such as a rustic servitude of way—via, iter, actus—or a public work for a municipality—balineum, theatrum, stadium) which by nature cannot be divided physically or legally is imposed on multiple heirs, each co-heir is liable for the performance of the entire legacy, rather than a divided share proportional to their inheritance.
  4. 35.2.80.1exceptione doli mali — "The plea of fraud" (exceptio doli mali). Since each heir is bound for the whole due to the indivisibility of the legacy, an individual heir might be forced to perform the entire obligation. If the legatee demands the full performance from an heir while refusing to credit or bring in (inferre) the share of the valuation (aestimationis partem) corresponding to the other heirs' portions, the heir can raise this plea to block the legatee's action.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §35.2.80.pr-35.2.80.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:35.2.80.pr-35.2.80.1

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