Legal Definitions - confirmatio ad omissa vel male appretiata

Confirmatio ad omissa vel male appretiata is a term from Scots law that describes the formal process by which an executor corrects an estateinventory that was previously submitted to the court. This correction becomes necessary when assets belonging to the deceased were either:

• Omitted: completely left out of the initial inventory, or
• Male appretiata: wrongly or inaccurately valued in the initial inventory.

Essentially, it is a legal mechanism to ensure that all assets of a deceased person's estate are fully and accurately accounted for and valued before they can be properly distributed to beneficiaries.

Examples:

• Example 1: Omitted Asset Discovery

  An executor, Sarah, submits the initial inventory for her late uncle's estate, listing his house, bank accounts, and investments. A few months later, while clearing out his study, she discovers a hidden safe containing several valuable antique coins and a rare stamp collection that were not known about or included in the original inventory. To legally incorporate these newly found assets into the estate, Sarah would initiate a confirmatio ad omissa vel male appretiata to add the coins and stamp collection to the official inventory.

• Example 2: Asset Misvaluation

  David is the executor for his mother's estate. In the initial inventory, he listed a painting at an estimated value of £5,000 based on a general family understanding. However, a professional art appraiser later informs him that the painting is by a renowned artist and is actually worth £50,000. Since the painting was "male appretiata" (wrongly valued) in the original submission, David would use confirmatio ad omissa vel male appretiata to update the estate's inventory with the correct, higher valuation, ensuring the estate's true worth is reflected.

• Example 3: Combined Omission and Misvaluation

  An executor, Maria, files the inventory for her deceased father's estate. She later realizes two errors: first, a small holiday cottage in a rural area, which her father owned but rarely mentioned, was completely left out of the inventory (an omission). Second, a classic car that was listed in the original inventory was valued at market price, but it turns out to be a rare, limited-edition model with unique features that significantly increase its value beyond the initial appraisal (male appretiata). Maria would use confirmatio ad omissa vel male appretiata to formally add the cottage and adjust the valuation of the classic car in the estate's official records.