Unde legitimi
(Concerning Prætorian Possession by Agnates.)
1 Iulianus libro vicensimo septimo digestorum. Haec verba edicti ‘tum quem ei heredem esse oporteret, si intestatus mortuus esset’ παρατατικῶς et cum quodam temporis spatio accipiuntur: non ad mortis testatoris tempus referuntur, sed ad id, quo bonorum possessio peteretur. et ideo legitimum heredem, si capite deminutus esset, ab hac bonorum possessione summoveri palam est.
1 Julianus, Digest, Book XXVII. The following terms of the Edict, “If he who should have been the heir of the testator dies intestate,” must be taken in their broadest sense, and understood to have reference to a certain period of time, not to the date of the testator’s death, but to that when prætorian possession of his estate is demanded. Hence, if the heir-at-law has lost his civil rights, it is clear that he can be barred from obtaining this kind of prætorian possession of the estate.
2 Ulpianus libro quadragensimo sexto ad edictum. Si repudiaverint sui ab intestato bonorum possessionem, adhuc dicemus obstare eos legitimis, hoc est his, quibus legitima potuit deferri hereditas, idcirco, quia repudiando quasi liberi bonorum possessionem hanc incipiunt habere quasi legitimi. 1Haec autem bonorum possessio non tantum masculorum defertur, verum etiam feminarum, nec tantum ingenuorum, verum etiam libertinorum. communis est igitur pluribus. nam et feminae possunt vel consanguineos vel adgnatos habere, item libertini possunt patronos patronasque habere. 2Nec tantum masculi hanc bonorum possessionem accipere possunt, verum etiam feminae. 3Si quis decesserit, de quo incertum est, utrum pater familias an filius familias sit, quia pater eius ab hostibus captus adhuc vivat vel quod alia causa suspendebat eius statum, magis est, ne possit peti bonorum eius possessio, quia nondum intestatum eum esse apparet, cum incertum sit, an testari possit. cum igitur coeperit certi status esse, tunc demum petenda est bonorum possessio: non cum certum esse coeperit intestatum esse, sed cum certum esse coeperit patrem familias esse. 4Haec autem bonorum possessio omnem vocat, qui ab intestato potuit esse heres, sive lex duodecim tabularum eum legitimum heredem faciat sive alia lex senatusve consultum. denique mater, quae ex senatus consulto venit Tertulliano, item qui ex Orphitiano ad legitimam hereditatem admittuntur, hanc bonorum possessionem petere possunt.
2 Ulpianus, On the Edict, Book XLVI. When the proper heirs reject possession of an estate ab intestato, we hold that they offer no obstacle to the heirs-at-law, that is to say, to those to whom the estate can legally pass. The reason for this is because, by rejecting the possession of the estate in the capacity of children, they begin to be entitled to it as heirs-at-law. 1Moreover, this kind of prætorian possession not only passes to males, but also to females, and not only to freeborn persons but also to freedmen; and therefore it is common to several. For women may have either blood relatives or agnates, and freedmen may also have patrons and patronesses. 2Not only can males obtain prætorian possession of this kind, but females likewise can do so. 3Where anyone dies, and it is uncertain whether he is the head of a household or a son under paternal control, for the reason that his father, who has been captured by the enemy, is still living, or because his civil status is in suspense for some other reason, the better opinion is that prætorian possession of his estate cannot be demanded, as it is not apparent that he has died intestate, and it is uncertain whether he can make a will or not. Therefore, when his condition is ascertained beyond a doubt, prætorian possession of his estate can be demanded; not from the time when it began to be positively known that he died intestate, but when it became certain that he was the head of a household when he died. 4Moreover, this kind of prætorian possession includes everyone who can succeed to the inheritance on the ground of intestacy, whether the provision of the Twelve Tables, or some other enactment, or a decree of the Senate constitutes him an heir at law. Finally the mother, who is entitled to the succession under the Tertullian Decree of the Senate, and also the children, who, under the Orphitian Decree of the Senate, are admitted to the succession of their mother as her heirs at law, can demand prætorian possession.
3 Paulus libro quadragensimo tertio ad edictum. Generaliter igitur sciendum est, quotienscumque vel lex vel senatus defert hereditatem, non etiam bonorum possessionem, ex hac parte eam peti oportere: cum vero etiam bonorum possessionem dari iubet, tum ex illa parte, qua ex legibus, peti debere: sed et ex hac parte poterit.
3 Paulus, On the Edict, Book XLIII. Hence, generally speaking, it should be remembered that every time that a law or a Decree of the Senate grants an estate to anyone, prætorian possession of the same must be demanded under this Section of the Edict. If the law directs prætorian possession of an estate to be granted it can be demanded, and this can either be done under the Section of the Edict relating to special enactments, or under that Section which is the subject of discussion at present.
4 Iulianus libro vicensimo septimo digestorum. Si ex duobus fratribus alter decesserit testamento iure facto, dein deliberante herede alter quoque intestato decesserit et scriptus heres omiserit hereditatem, patruus legitimam hereditatem habebit: nam haec bonorum possessio ‘tum quem heredem esse oportet’ ad id tempus refertur, quo primum ab intestato bonorum possessio peti potuisset.
4 Julianus, Digest, Book XXVII. If one of two brothers should die after having made a will in accordance with law, and then, while his heir was deliberating with reference to accepting the estate, the other brother should die intestate, and the appointed heir should reject the inheritance, the paternal uncle of the brothers will be entitled to it as heir at law; for that kind of prætorian possession which refers to him “who should be the heir” has reference to the time when the possession of an estate can first be claimed on the ground of intestacy.
5 Modestinus libro tertio pandectarum. Inter adgnatos et cognatos hoc interest, quod in adgnatis et cognati continentur, in cognatis non utique et adgnati. verbi gratia patris frater, id est patruus, et adgnatus est et cognatus, matris autem frater, id est avunculus, cognatus est, adgnatus non est. 1Quamdiu spes est suum heredem aliquem defuncto existere, tamdiu consanguineis locus non est: puta si defuncti uxor praegnas sit aut defuncti filius apud hostes sit.
5 Modestinus, Pandects, Book III. There is this difference between agnates and cognates: cognates are included among agnates, but agnates are not included among cognates; for example, the brother of a father, that is, the paternal uncle, is both an agnate and a cognate, but the brother of a mother, that is to say, the maternal uncle, is an agnate, but not a cognate. 1As long as there is any hope that a deceased person will have a direct heir, there is no ground for the claim of blood relatives to the estate; for example, where the wife of the deceased is pregnant, or his son is in the hands of the enemy.
6 Hermogenianus libro tertio iuris epitomarum. Nati post mortem patris vel post captivitatem sive deportationem, sed et hi, qui tempore, quo capiebatur vel deportabatur pater, in potestate fuerunt, ius inter se consanguinitatis habent, etsi heredes patri non extiterint, sicuti exheredati.
6 Hermogenianus, Epitomes of Law, Book III. Children born after the death of their father, or after his captivity or banishment, as well as those who are under his control at the time when he was captured or banished, retain the right of consanguinity, even though they may not be the heirs of their father, just as is the case with children who are disinherited.