Legitime

The compulsory part in inheritance law secures the immediate family, especially the children and spouses, a minimum participation in the estate. The compulsory part is granted independently of the will of the testator, that restricts the freedom of the testator.

General

A compulsory part in terms of a minimum holding of a certain share of the estate do not know all jurisdictions. So financially independent children usually can, for example, in the United States is not part of the estate entitled if they were not facing something. Spouses and dependent children receive a demand- oriented content. Germany and most European countries, however, follow the legal tradition from Roman law.

The restriction of the freedom comes from the idea of natural law, descendants and possibly ancestors were the natural heirs to disinherit only in exceptional cases should be possible. In addition, the need for care of the children and widows played a role.

The height of the compulsory portion is measured by the amount of the inheritance, but depending on the legal system and on the number of heirs or the title. Also partially passed special regulations that prohibited a division of the heritage and payment of a reserved to prevent a real division.

The height of the compulsory portion is regulated differently. So fixed the Roman law until the creation of the Corpus iuris Civilis by Justinian, that the duty part 1/4 of the proportionate heritage must make. Justinian raised the rate to 1/ 3 for the case that the number of children is less than 4. This third was found also in many civil law books of the 19th century.

In French law was / is graded according to the number of children:

Legal situation in individual countries

• Compulsory portion ( Germany )
• Noterbe or compulsory part ( Austria )
• Compulsory portion ( Switzerland )