Legal Definitions - condedit

condedit

In historical ecclesiastical law, a condedit was a formal legal defense presented in court. It was filed by a party (such as an executor or beneficiary) to affirm the authenticity and validity of a will that had been challenged. This plea was made in response to a complaint (known as a libel) that questioned whether the deceased truly made the will or if it was legitimate.

• Example 1: A wealthy merchant's will, which disinherited a distant cousin in favor of a local charity, is challenged by the cousin in an ecclesiastical court. The cousin alleges the will was forged. The charity, as a beneficiary, would file a condedit to formally declare that the merchant indeed made the will and that it is valid.

  Explanation: Here, the charity uses the condedit as a defensive plea to counter the cousin's accusation of forgery, asserting the will's genuine creation by the deceased.

• Example 2: After a prominent citizen's death, a dispute arises over their will. A family member claims the deceased was unduly influenced or not mentally capable when the will was signed, effectively questioning its veracity. The executor of the estate, tasked with carrying out the will's instructions, would submit a condedit to assert the will's genuine nature and defend its legitimacy against these claims.

  Explanation: The executor employs the condedit to defend the will's authenticity and validity against allegations of undue influence or lack of mental capacity, which directly challenge whether the deceased truly "made" the will under proper circumstances.

• Example 3: A will leaves a significant portion of an estate to a religious institution, but a disgruntled heir files a complaint in the ecclesiastical court, suggesting the signature on the will is not authentic. The religious institution, as a beneficiary, would respond by filing a condedit, formally stating their belief and evidence that the deceased genuinely created and signed the will.

  Explanation: In this scenario, the religious institution uses the condedit to directly counter the heir's claim about the signature, affirming that the will was genuinely made by the deceased and is therefore legitimate.