Legal Definitions - recto de rationabili parte

The term recto de rationabili parte (sometimes written as De Recto de Rationabili Parte) is an old legal concept originating from English common law. It refers to a specific type of legal action, known as a writ, that a child could bring against the executor or heir of a deceased parent.

The purpose of this writ was to claim the child's "reasonable part" or customary share of the deceased parent's estate. This was particularly relevant in regions where local customs dictated that a certain portion of a parent's property (often movable goods like money, furniture, or livestock) was reserved for their children, even if the parent's will attempted to disinherit them or leave everything to someone else. Essentially, it was a legal tool for children to enforce their traditional right to an inheritance share against a parent's contrary wishes or actions.

• Example 1: Challenging a Will

  Imagine a wealthy landowner in 14th-century England who, upon his death, leaves his entire estate, including all his personal property and chattels, to a distant cousin, completely bypassing his two adult children. In their particular county, there was a long-standing custom that children were entitled to one-third of their deceased parent's movable goods. The children could have initiated a recto de rationabili parte action to challenge the will, asserting their customary right to that one-third share of their father's personal estate, arguing that the will violated this established local inheritance custom.

• Example 2: Recovering Alienated Property

  Consider a widowed mother in a medieval town where it was customary for children to inherit a specific portion of the family's movable assets. Shortly before her death, she secretly sells off all her valuable household items and gives the proceeds to a religious order, leaving nothing for her children. After her death, her children discover this. If the recto de rationabili parte writ were still in use, they could have employed this legal process to argue that their mother's actions effectively denied them their customary "reasonable part" of her estate, seeking to recover the value of what they should have inherited according to local tradition.

• Example 3: Enforcing a Customary Share Against an Executor

  Suppose a merchant dies, and his will names his brother as the executor of his estate. The will instructs the brother to distribute all the merchant's personal wealth to various charities, leaving nothing for the merchant's minor daughter. However, the city where the merchant lived had a strong custom that children were always entitled to a specific percentage (e.g., one-third) of their deceased parent's personal property. The daughter, through a guardian, could have used a recto de rationabili parte writ to compel the executor to set aside her customary share before distributing the rest of the estate according to the will, thereby upholding her traditional right to inheritance.