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Marriage, law and inheritance
#1
In Roman law, married couples were not allowed to give each other gifts. Supposedly this was to keep wealth within families, or something... but how did it work in practice?

If a man married a wealthy woman, would he have no access to her fortune at all? If he bought a house and furnished it, and was called away on (say) military service for a long period, would he have to appoint a procurator to oversee his finances while he was away, to regulate his wife spending his money on household necessities? What about if the wife owned slaves - would the husband have any authority over them while they were in his own house?

From what I can work out, after the death of a spouse all thier property reverted to their paterfamilias - usually their father, or oldest male relative - or their (male) children, rather than being inherited by the surviving partner. Is this right? In which case, could a man living in a house owned by his wife find himself evicted by her relatives after her death? Could he keep a portion of his wife's wealth in trust for their offspring, and use some of it to live off himself?

Thanks for any help or suggestions!

- Nathan
Nathan Ross
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Messages In This Thread
Marriage, law and inheritance - by Nathan Ross - 10-31-2014, 03:07 PM
Marriage, law and inheritance - by Nathan Ross - 10-31-2014, 11:25 PM
Marriage, law and inheritance - by Francesco - 12-26-2014, 08:41 PM
Marriage, law and inheritance - by Nathan Ross - 12-28-2014, 11:59 AM
Marriage, law and inheritance - by Nathan Ross - 10-13-2015, 02:55 PM

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