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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §7.1.29.pr

Bequest of Usufruct of All Assets Within Three-Fourths of Estate

Passage 1200 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Ulpian cites Celsus and Julian to state that the usufruct of all assets can be bequeathed provided it does not exceed three-fourths of the estate's value, which is deemed the more correct view.

[ULPIANUS libro octauo decimo ad Sabinum. ] §7.1.29.prOmnium bonorum usu fructum posse legari, nisi excedat dodrantis aestimationem, Celsus libro trigensimo secundo digestorum et Iulianus libro sexagensimo primo scribit: et est uerius.
[ULPIANUS in the eighteenth book on Sabinus.] Celsus writes in the thirty-second book of his Digests, and Julian in his sixty-first book, that the usufruct of all goods can be bequeathed, unless it exceeds the valuation of three-fourths; and this is more correct.

Notes

  1. §7.1.29.prscribit — Although the subject consists of two proper nouns connected by 'et' (Celsus and Iulianus), the verb 'scribit' is in the singular. This is an instance of agreement with the nearest subject (Iulianus), or it emphasizes that each jurist wrote so individually in his respective work.
  2. §7.1.29.prdodrantis — The genitive singular of 'dodrans' (nine-twelfths, or three-fourths). This refers to the legal context of the Lex Falcidia, under which a testator could not bequeath more than three-fourths of their estate, leaving at least one-quarter to the heir. Hence, 'the valuation of three-fourths' represents the maximum permissible limit for legacies.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §7.1.29.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:7.1.29.pr

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