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Simple English definitions for legal terms
beneficium divisionis
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A quick definition of beneficium divisionis:
Beneficium Divisionis: A legal term that refers to a surety's right to only be held responsible for a portion of a debt that is proportional to the number of solvent cosureties. This means that if there are multiple people responsible for a debt, the surety will only be responsible for their fair share. It is also known as the benefit of division in common law, and is recognized in civil law, French law, and Scots law.
A more thorough explanation:
Beneficium divisionis is a legal term that refers to a surety's right to be sued only for a part of the debt that is proportional to the number of solvent cosureties. In other words, if there are multiple sureties for a debt, each surety is only responsible for a portion of the debt that is equal to their share of the responsibility.
For example, if there are three sureties for a debt and one of them becomes insolvent, the remaining two sureties would only be responsible for two-thirds of the debt, rather than the full amount.
This concept is important in civil law, particularly in cases involving principal and surety. It is also known as beneficium divisionis in Roman law, bénéfice de division in French law, and right of division in Scots law.