Unclaimed Inheritances in Renaissance Florence

Abstract

Abstract

In civil law the heir to an estate reaped all assets and debts, such that an estate burdened with liabilities could prove deleterious. Some heirs chose to reject such estates, but in other cases the heir simply did not formally accede to the estate. Estates left in abeyance were a source of strategies and confusion. Florentine sources disclose how many ways property was hidden and exploited if left as nominally unclaimed. Professional attorneys called upon to render their learned opinions about such estates found first-hand how confusing this area of the law could be.