Hæreditas est successio in universum 237. Inheritance is the succession to every right which the deceased had. They were called "necessary" heirs, be- jus quod defunctus habuerit. Co. Litt. cause it was the law that made them heirs, and not the choice of either the decedent or themselves. But since this was also true of slaves (when named "heirs" in the will) the former class were designated “sui et neces- sarii," by way of distinction, the word “sui” denoting that the necessity arose from their relationship to the decedent. Mackeld. Rom. Law, § 733. HÆREDIPETA. Lat. In old English law. A seeker of an inheritance; hence, the next heir to lands. Hæredipetæ suo propinquo vel extra- neo periculoso sane custodi nullus com- mittatur. To the next heir, whether a re- lation or a stranger, certainly a dangerous guardian, let no one be committed. Co. Litt. 886. HÆREDITAS. In Roman law. The hæreditas was a universal succession by law to any deceased person, whether such person had died testate or intestate, and whether in trust (ex fideicommisso) for another or not. The like succession according to Prætorian law was bonorum possessio. The hæreditas was called "jacens," until the hæres took it up, i. e., made his aditio hæreditatis; and such hæres, if a suus hæres, had the right to abstain, (potestcs abstinendi,) and, if an ex- traneus hæres, had the right to consider whether he would accept or decline, (potestas deliberandi,) the reason for this precaution being that (prior to Justinian's enactment to the contrary) a hæres after his aditio was liable to the full extent of the debts of the deceased person, and could have no relief therefrom, except in the case of a damnum emergens or damnosa hæreditas, i. e., an hæreditus which disclosed (after the aditio) soms enormous unsuspected liability. Brown. In old English law. An estate trans- missible by descent; an inheritance. Co. Litt. 9. HÆREDITAS JACENS. In the civil law. A vacant inheritance. So long as no one had acquired the inheritance, it was termed "hæreditas jacens;” and this, by a legal fiction, represented the person of the decedent. Mackeld. Rom. Law, § 737. The estate of a person deceased, where the owner left no heirs or legatee to take it, called also "caduca," an escheated estate. Cod. 10, 10, 1; 4 Kent, Comm. 425. In English law. An estate in abeyance; that is, after the ancestor's death, and before assumption of heir. Co. Litt. 3426. An in- heritance without legal owner, and therefore open to the first occupant. 2 Bl. Comm. 259. HÆREDITAS LUCTUOSA. In the civil law. A sad or mournful inheritance or succession; as that of a parent to the estate of a child, which was regarded as disturbing the natural order of mortality, (turbato ordine mortalitatis.) Cod. 6, 25, 9; 4 Kent, Comm. 397. Hæreditas nihil aliud est, quam suc- cessio in universum jus, quod defunctus habuerit. The right of inheritance is noth- ing else than the faculty of succeeding to all the rights of the deceased. Dig. 50, 17, 62. Hæreditas nunquam ascendit. An in- heritance never ascends. Glanv. lib. 7, c. 1; 2 Bl. Comm. 211. A maxim of feudal origin, and which invariably prevailed in the law of England down to the passage of the statute 3 & 4 Wm. IV. c. 106, § 6, by which it was abrogated. 1 Steph. Comm. 378. See Broom, Max. 527, 528. Hæredum appellatione veniunt hære- des hæredum in infinitum. By the title of heirs, come the heirs of heirs to infinity. Co. Litt. 9. K L M HÆRES HÆRES. In Roman law. The heir, or universal successor in the event of death. The heir is he who actively or passively suc- ceeds to the entire property of the estate- leaver. He is not only the successor to the rights and claims, but also to the estate-leav- er's debts, and in relation to his estate is to be regarded as the identical person of the es- tate-leaver, inasmuch as he represents him in all his active and passive relations to his estate. Mackeld. Rom. Law, § 651. It should be remarked that the office, powers, and duties of the hæres, in Roman law, were much more closely assimilated to those of a mod- ern executor than to those of an heir at law. Hence "heir" is not at all an accurate translation of "hæres," unless it be understood in a special, technical sense. In common law. An heir; he to whom lands, tenements, or hereditaments by the act of God and right of blood do descend, of some estate of inheritance. Co. Litt. 76. HÆRES ASTRARIUS. In old English law. An heir in actual possession. HÆRES DE FACTO. In old English law. Heir from fact; that is, from the deed or act of his ancestor, without or against right. An heir in fact, as distinguished from an heir de jure, or by law. Hæres est alter ipse, et filius est pars patris. An heir is another self, and a son is part of the father. 3 Coke. 126. Hæres est aut jure proprietatis aut jure representationis. An heir is either HÆRES NON TENETUR, ETC. was not subject to the power of the testator, or person who made him heir. Qui testa- toris juri subjecti non sunt, e