Legal Definitions - pars rationabilis

Pars rationabilis is a Latin legal term that translates to "reasonable part." Historically, it referred to the portion of a deceased person's estate that their spouse and children were legally entitled to inherit, regardless of what the deceased's will might have stated. This principle was designed to ensure that a deceased person could not completely disinherit their immediate family, thereby protecting them from destitution.

While the specific rules of pars rationabilis, such as those under the medieval Custom of York, are no longer widely applied in common law jurisdictions like England and the United States, the underlying concept of protecting a family's interest in an estate persists in various modern legal forms, such as elective share statutes or forced heirship laws in other legal systems.

Here are some examples illustrating the concept of pars rationabilis:

• Example 1 (Historical Context): Imagine a wealthy merchant in 14th-century England who, in his will, attempts to leave his entire fortune to a distant cousin and nothing to his wife and three children. Under the principle of pars rationabilis, specifically as applied by the Custom of York, his wife and children would have legal grounds to challenge the will. They would be entitled to two-thirds of his movable goods (one-third for the widow, one-third for the children collectively), irrespective of the merchant's wishes to disinherit them.

  Explanation: This example directly illustrates pars rationabilis by showing how it historically mandated a specific, "reasonable part" of an estate to be reserved for the immediate family, overriding the deceased's testamentary freedom to ensure their financial security.

• Example 2 (Modern Analogy - Elective Share): Consider a contemporary situation in a U.S. state where a husband passes away, leaving a will that grants his entire estate to a charitable foundation, explicitly excluding his wife of 30 years. Although the specific term pars rationabilis isn't used today, many U.S. states have "elective share" statutes. These laws allow a surviving spouse to claim a statutory percentage (often one-third or one-half) of the deceased spouse's estate, even if the will attempts to disinherit them.

  Explanation: This demonstrates the modern manifestation of the pars rationabilis principle. The elective share serves the same fundamental purpose: to ensure a surviving spouse receives a "reasonable part" of the estate, preventing complete disinheritance and providing financial protection, much like the historical concept.

• Example 3 (Civil Law - Forced Heirship): In a country like France, which operates under a civil law system, a parent might try to leave all their assets to one child, completely excluding their other two children from the inheritance. However, French law includes "forced heirship" rules (réserve héréditaire). These rules dictate that a certain proportion of the estate (the "reserved portion") must be distributed among the children, regardless of the parent's will. For instance, with three children, two-thirds of the estate might be reserved for them, to be divided equally.

  Explanation: This example from a civil law jurisdiction clearly shows how the concept of a "reasonable part" for heirs is enshrined in law. The forced heirship rules ensure that children receive their legally mandated portion of the inheritance, directly reflecting the protective intent behind the historical pars rationabilis.