portio legitima (por-shee-oh l[schwa]-jit-i-m[schwa]). [Latin “lawful portion”] Roman & civil law. The portion of an estate required by law to be left to close relatives; specif., the portion of an inheritance that a given heir is entitled to, and of which the heir cannot be deprived by the testator without special cause. Pl. portiones legitimae. […]
legitime (lej-[schwa]-tim), n. Civil law. The part of a testator’s property that his or her children (and occasionally other heirs) are legally entitled to regardless of the will’s terms. La. Civ. Code art. 1494. • The legitime cannot be denied the children without legal cause. In Roman law, the amount of the legitime was one-fourth
legitime (大陆法)特留份 指无论父母在遗嘱中的规定如何，遗嘱人的子女均依法可继承的遗产份额。特留份有时也适用于立遗嘱人的其他继承人。没有法定理由，不得剥夺子女的特留份。在罗马法中，特留份在数量上相当于该继承人在无遗嘱时可继承的遗产份额的1/4。在美国路易斯安那州〔Louisiana〕，指根据法律而在父亲遗产中为其生存的婚生子女所保留的部分，属强制继承权，不得剥夺。又作legal portion；legitimate portion；forced portion，在苏格兰尤可作legitim。 (→forced heir)
legitim n. 〈苏格兰〉子女应继承动产份额；特留份 legitima portio或bairn’s part是指子女应继承动产的份额。自1968年起兼指代位继承人分享被继承人所遗留的动产的权利。如果被继承人尚有配偶，则该份额应为遗产的1/3；若被继承人无配偶则为遗产的1/2。这项权利仅依权利人的生存而存在，不得以遗嘱或其他方式剥夺，也不得在子女间进行不公平分配。但该权利可以因权利人完成继承而消灭，或通过被继承人以遗嘱对该子女另行补偿作替代。于后者，子女必须在该法定份额和遗嘱规定的补偿之间进行选择。