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Simple English definitions for legal terms
lex Voconia
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A quick definition of lex Voconia:
Lex Voconia: A law in ancient Rome made in 169 B.C. to control inheritance, especially for women. It limited the amount of money or property that someone could receive as a gift or inheritance to no more than what the heirs received. The Falcidian law replaced it later. The Lex Voconia had three main rules: (1) Women could not inherit more than a fixed amount, (2) Only sisters of the deceased could inherit if there was no will, and (3) No one could receive more than the heirs.
A more thorough explanation:
Definition: Lex Voconia was a law enacted in 169 B.C. in Roman law to regulate inheritance, especially by women. It capped the amount receivable by anyone as legacy or gift in view of death at no more than the heirs took. The Falcidian law superseded the lex Voconia.
Example: The lex Voconia contained several provisions concerned with the law of succession. For instance, no woman could be an heir to an estate having a value greater than a fixed amount. Also, it admitted among female agnates only the sisters of the deceased to intestate succession. Additionally, no one person, male or female, could receive by legacy more than the heir (or all heirs together) instituted in the last will.
Explanation: The example illustrates how the lex Voconia regulated inheritance, especially by women, by capping the amount receivable by anyone as legacy or gift in view of death at no more than the heirs took. It also shows how the law admitted only the sisters of the deceased to intestate succession and limited the amount of legacy one could receive.