V. Concerning Property Given to a Husband by his Wife; and Where a Wife has ...
Donations, conferred by royalty upon any person whomsoever, shall belong ...
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The Visigothic Code: (Forum judicum) ed. S. P. Scott Book V: Concerning Business Transactions Title II: Concerning Donations in General [152] I. A Donation Extorted by Violence is Void. II. Concerning Royal Donations. III. Concerning Property Given to a Husband or a Wife by the King. IV. Concerning Property, in Addition to the Dowry, Given to a Wife by her Husband. V. Concerning Property Given to a Husband by his Wife; and Where a Wife has been Convicted of Adultery. VI. Concerning Property Donated Verbally, or Conveyed by Instruments in Writing. VII. Concerning Gifts Bestowed upon One Another by Husband and Wife. ANCIENT LAW. I. A Donation Extorted by Violence is Void. A gift extorted by force and fear has no validity whatever. II. Concerning Royal Donations. Donations, conferred by royalty upon any person whomsoever, shall belong absolutely to him to whom they are given; so that he who is thus honored by the royal munificence shall have the power to dispose of any property derived from such a source in any way that he chooses. If he who received such gifts should die intestate, the donations aforesaid shall belong to the legal heirs in regular succession, according to law, and the royal favor can in no way be infringed upon; because it is not fitting that the will of the prince should be interfered with, where the recipient of royal bounty has not been guilty of crime. III. Concerning Property Given to a Husband or a Wife by the King. We especially decree that a wife shall be entitled to no part of any property presented by the king to her husband, unless the latter should bestow a portion of it upon her by way of dowry. And, likewise, should the gift be made to a [153] wife, her husband shall have no right to any of it; nor can he lay claim to it after her death, unless his wife should give or bequeath it to him. ANCIENT LAW. IV. Concerning Property, in Addition to the Dowry, given to a Wife by her Husband. If a wife should, at any time, in addition to her dowry, accept from her husband property acquired by him as a gift, or by profligate conduct, or the proceeds of claims collected by him, she shall have the absolute disposal of said property until the day of her death, according to the terms of the will of her husband, even though there be children born of that marriage. She shall have the power to expend or use the income of such property, just as the testator has designated by will, and, during her lifetime, she shall enjoy unhampered possession of all such property, the income of which shall be used for her
expenses. But if the testator should not make any special disposition of said income, his children shall have the right to said property after his death; and, upon no occasion, shall his wife be allowed to alienate any part of it, excepting the income. Where there are no children by said marriage, the wife shall have full control of all property given her by her husband, according to the terms of his will But if she should die intestate, the said property shall revert to her husband if he is living, and if he should not be living, it shall belong to his heirs. And we decree that the same rule shall apply to husbands who, at any time, have received gifts of property from their wives. ANCIENT LAW. V. Concerning Property given to a Husband by his Wife; and Where a Wife has been Convicted of Adultery. If a husband should give any property to his wife, and she, after his death, should remain chaste, or should marry another husband. she shall have the power of disposing of the property given her by her first husband according to the terms of his ill, it she should have no children. If she should die intestate [154] and without children, the property shall revert to her husband if he is living, and if not, it shall belong to his heirs. But if she should have been convicted of adultery, or other meretricious conduct, she shall lose any property which she obtained from her husband, and it shall belong to his heirs, or to his legitimate children. FLAVIUS CHINTASVINTUS, KING. VI. Concerning Property Donated Verbally, or Conveyed by Instruments in Writing. Any property given away in the presence of witnesses can under no circumstances be reclaimed by the donor. And even if it should happen that what is given is situated elsewhere, the donation cannot, for that reason, be revoked, provided it is made in writing; because it is evident that the gift is absolute, when the instrument conveying it is in the name of, and for the benefit of him who receives it. It, however, must be noted, that if the donor should say that he neither delivered such an instrument nor directed it to be delivered, but that it was taken from him; then the party to whom the property was given may prove by witnesses that it was transferred to him, or directed to be so transferred by the donor, or placed under his control by the will of the testator; and, when he shall have produced such testimony, the gift shall be deemed valid. Where he neglects to introduce competent testimony, he who executed the instrument shall make oath that he neither delivered it, nor directed it to be delivered, nor that he voluntarily executed it; and the instrument shall then be returned to him by whom it was claimed, and shall remain invalid, if the latter so desires. But it is proper to add, that if anyone should execute an instrument disposing of any property for the benefit of any one whomsoever, and, in his lifetime, should not deliver it to him for whose benefit it was made, and it should be found after the death of the former; he for whose benefit the donor has made disposition of said property, shall have the right to claim it, along with all the property therein described; for it is evidently just that a document which the donor, [155] while living, preserved, and which never appeared to be altered in any way, should have full force in law. If, however, the donor while living did not relinquish possession of either the instrument or the property, but kept them, and made other dispositions in his will, the latter shall be valid because a will always takes precedence in law of documents previously executed, but not delivered. If he to whom the property was given should die before receiving it, it shall belong to the donor or to his heirs. And where the gift should be made under this condition, to wit, that the donor should have possession of it during his lifetime, and that, after his death, it should go to him for whom he intended it, he shall have the privilege of changing his mind when he wishes, even though he should have suffered no injury; because the case is similar to that of the execution of a will. But if he who is deceived by a fraudulent gift, and with the expectation of profiting by an empty promise, shall expend anything for the benefit of the donor, he shall be entitled to receive from the donor himself, or from his heirs, compensation in damages for any loss he may have sustained on that account. And if anyone
should choose to give away any property he has received, either by ordinary gift or by the authority of any written document, the party to whom he gives it shall have the same right to it as the original donor. If he who received the gift should die during the life of the donor, he shall have the right to dispose of said gift at his pleasure; and should he die intestate, the gift shall not revert to the donor, but shall descend to the heirs of him who received it. VII. Concerning Gifts Bestowed upon One Another by Husband and Wife. If a husband should give any property to his wife, he must describe it in a written instrument and affix his signature or seal thereto. And, in order that his gift may be valid, it is necessary that two or three freeborn witnesses should attest the document. This law shall also apply to a wife who wishes to confer any gift upon her husband, provided the gift was not extorted by the husband through violence; to the end that the provisions of the law relating to the disposition of property may be, in every respect, preserved.
