Legal Definitions - extra familiam

extra familiam

The Latin phrase extra familiam literally translates to "outside the family." Historically, in legal contexts, it described the status of an individual who had been formally separated from their original family unit. This separation meant they no longer held certain legal rights, responsibilities, or status within that family, often due to processes like emancipation or a formal act of disinheritance known as forisfamiliation.

• Example 1: Legal Emancipation of a Minor

  Imagine a sixteen-year-old who successfully petitions a court for legal emancipation. This legal process grants them the rights and responsibilities of an adult, allowing them to make independent decisions, enter contracts, and manage their own finances without requiring parental consent.

  This teenager is considered extra familiam because, for legal purposes, they are no longer under the direct control or legal responsibility of their parents. They operate outside the traditional legal framework of their original family unit.

• Example 2: Historical Disinheritance and Loss of Succession

  Consider a historical scenario where a wealthy landowner, deeply displeased with his adult child's actions, formally and legally disinherits them, publicly declaring them removed from the family's lineage and succession. This act, akin to forisfamiliation, would be recorded in legal documents of the time.

  In this situation, the child would be deemed extra familiam regarding their rights to inherit from their parent's estate or to claim any traditional position within the family's business or social structure. They are legally excluded from the family's line of succession and its associated benefits.