2.1.132 to 2.1.138

Concerning military wills. (109) The rigid observation of these rules in the making of wills is not required of soldiers, by the Imperial Constitutions on account of their extreme want of legal knowledge. For, even if they should not summon the lawful number of witnesses, or sell the property, or declare the will to be theirs, they nevertheless have the right of testamentary disposition. (110) Moreover, they are permitted to appoint even aliens and Latins as their heirs or legatees; while under other circumstances aliens are forbidden by the Civil Law from receiving estates and legacies, and Latins are forbidden to do so by the Lex Junta . (111) Unmarried persons who are prohibited by the Lex Julia from receiving estates or legacies, and likewise bereaved persons, that is to say those who have no children and upon whom the Lex Papia forbids to take more than half an estate or legacy, are not disqualified from taking all of it under a military will. (112) A Decree of the Senate was enacted at the instance of the Divine Hadrian, by which women were permitted to make a will even without the ceremony of coemption; provided, however, they were not under twelve years of age; and if they were not released from guardianship, they were required to execute their wills with the consent of their guardians. (113) Females therefore appear to be in a better position than males, but a male under the age of fourteen cannot make a will, even with the authority of his guardian; but a female obtains the right of testamentary disposition with the consent of her guardian, after she has reached her twelfth year. (114) Hence, if we wish to know whether or not a will is valid, we must ascertain in the first place whether the party who executed it had testamentary capacity, and next, if he had it, we must learn whether he made the will in accordance with the requirements of the Civil Law; with the exception of soldiers, who, as we have stated, are, on account of their want of legal knowledge, permitted to make a will in any way that they may desire, and in any way that they can.