Legal Definitions - lex Voconia

Definition: Lex Voconia was a law enacted in 169 B.C. in Roman law to regulate inheritance, especially by women. It capped the amount receivable by anyone as legacy or gift in view of death at no more than the heirs took. The Falcidian law superseded the lex Voconia.

Example: The lex Voconia contained several provisions concerned with the law of succession. For instance, no woman could be an heir to an estate having a value greater than a fixed amount. Also, it admitted among female agnates only the sisters of the deceased to intestate succession. Additionally, no one person, male or female, could receive by legacy more than the heir (or all heirs together) instituted in the last will.

Explanation: The example illustrates how the lex Voconia regulated inheritance, especially by women, by capping the amount receivable by anyone as legacy or gift in view of death at no more than the heirs took. It also shows how the law admitted only the sisters of the deceased to intestate succession and limited the amount of legacy one could receive.