Legal Definitions - collegatarius

Collegatarius is a term from Roman law. It refers to a "colegatee," meaning a person who is designated to receive a specific gift or legacy from a will, jointly with one or more other individuals.

A collegatarius is an individual who is named in a will to receive a specific gift or piece of property jointly with one or more other people. Essentially, they are a "co-legatee," meaning they share a particular inheritance with others.

Here are some examples to illustrate this concept:

• Example 1: Shared Family Heirloom

  Imagine a will states, "I bequeath my antique grandfather clock to my two children, Sarah and Michael, to share equally." In this scenario, both Sarah and Michael are collegatarii because they are jointly designated to receive the same specific item (the grandfather clock) from the will. They share the legacy of that particular piece of property.

• Example 2: Joint Financial Gift

  Consider a will that includes the provision, "The sum of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) shall be divided equally among my three nieces, Emily, Olivia, and Sophia." Here, Emily, Olivia, and Sophia are all collegatarii. They are each part of a group of individuals who are collectively entitled to receive a specific financial gift from the estate, which they will then divide among themselves.

• Example 3: Co-ownership of Property

  A will might state, "My vacation cabin in the mountains shall pass to my two best friends, David and Robert, as tenants in common." In this case, David and Robert are collegatarii. They are both named in the will to inherit the same specific piece of real estate, making them co-owners of the cabin as a result of the legacy.