Digestorum libri
Ex libro XXXII
Dig. 42,8,23Idem libro trigensimo secundo digestorum. Primo gradu scripti heredes cum animadverterent bona defuncti vix ad quartam partem aeris alieni sufficere, famae defuncti conservandae gratia ex consensu creditorum auctoritate praesidis provinciae secundum constitutionem ea condicione adierunt hereditatem, ut creditoribus dumtaxat partem praestarent: quaesitum est, an manumissi testamento et libertates et alimenta consequi possint. respondit libertates quidem, si in fraudem creditorum datae non essent, competere, legata vero, si solvendo hereditas non esset, non deberi.
The Same, Digest, Book XXXII. When certain heirs, appointed in the first degree, ascertained that the estate of the deceased was scarcely sufficient to satisfy the fourth part of his indebtedness, for the purpose of preserving his reputation with the consent of the creditors, and by the authority of the Governor of the province entered upon the estate on condition of only paying a portion of their claims to the creditors; the question arose whether the slaves manumitted by the will could obtain their freedom and the means of support which had been bequeathed to them. The answer was that the grants of freedom would take effect, provided they had not been left for the purpose of defrauding the creditors, but that the legacies would not be due if the estate was insolvent.