Legate and Donation in case of death in Ancient Rome

Abstract

The term “donation” had diff erent meanings in Roman private law. In a broad sense this concept meant any free provision of property to another person attended by the deed of gift and the legate. Donation in the case of death was a special kind of donation. It was in conflict with inheritance by will because it violated the property rights of heirs and creditors of the deсeased donor. On the one hand, the donor could give all or a large part of the property to other persons, on the other hand, the donee was not responsible for the debts of the testator. In this regard in ancient Rome there was a convergence in the legal regulation of these institutions. The rules of the legate began to be applied to donation in case of death. As a result of this research the author came to the conclusion that this process had not been completed as these institutions have kept a number of fundamental differences in their legal nature. Refs 18.