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Simple English definitions for legal terms
legitime
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A quick definition of legitime:
Legitime is a legal term that means the part of a person's property that their children are entitled to receive, even if it is not mentioned in their will. This means that children have a right to a portion of their parent's property, and it cannot be taken away from them without a good reason. In the past, the amount of the legitime was one-fourth of the person's share on intestacy. It is also known as the legal portion, legitimate portion, or forced portion.
A more thorough explanation:
Legitime is a legal term used in civil law. It refers to the portion of a deceased person's property that their children (and sometimes other heirs) are entitled to receive, regardless of what is stated in the will. According to Louisiana Civil Code Article 1494, the children cannot be denied their legitime without a valid legal reason.
In Roman law, the legitime was one-fourth of the claimant's share on intestacy. In Scotland, it is also known as legitim.
Other terms used for legitime include legal portion, legitimate portion, and forced portion. It is also related to the concept of a forced heir.
For example, if a person dies and leaves behind a will that distributes their property among their spouse and children, but the will does not provide the children with their legitime, the children can challenge the will in court to receive their rightful share.
Another example is if a person dies without a will, and their property is distributed according to the laws of intestacy. In this case, the children would be entitled to their legitime, which is usually a portion of the estate.
These examples illustrate how legitime is a legal right that cannot be denied to the children of a deceased person without a valid legal reason.