Jus relictae
In Scots law, jus relictae refers to the right of the surviving spouse in the movable goods of the deceased spouse. Jus relictae is the term used for a surviving wife, and jus relicti is the term used for a surviving husband. The similar right for any surviving children is referred to as legitim.
The deceased must have been domiciled in Scotland, but the right accrues from movable property, wherever situated. The surviving spouse's right vests by survivance, and is independent of the deceased spouse's testamentary provisions; it may however be renounced by contract, or be discharged by satisfaction. It is subject to alienation of the deceased spouse's movable estate during his lifetime or by its conversion into heritage.
[edit] Additional explanations
The surviving spouse also has a right of terce (not the same as the religious term terce) on the deceased spouse's lands. Thus, under Scots law, both movable and immovable property are subject to the rights of a surviving spouse and children.
The legal principles of jus relictae and legitime also remain active in the US state of Louisiana, which differs from the other 49 states as it operates under the Napoleonic code rather than common law.
[edit] References
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This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (March 2012) |
- ^ Bell, William (1861). Dictionary and Digest, Law of Scotland, with Short Explanations of the most Ordinary English Law Terms (Revised and Corrected with Numerous Additions by George Ross ed.). Edinburgh: Bell & Bradfute.
- ^ Shumaker, Walter A.; George Foster Longsdorf (1922). The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary (Second Edition by James C. Cahill ed.). Chicago: Callaghan and Company.
- ^ "Scottish Language Dictionaries". http://www.dsl.ac.uk/dsl/. Retrieved March 1, 2008.
- ^ "Legal rights: introduction". HM Revenue and Customs. http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/ihtmanual/IHTM12221.htm. Retrieved November 28, 2007.
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