Seventh rule. |
100 OF DESCENT.
The seventh and last rule of descent is, that
in collateral inheritances, the male stocks shall
be preferred before the female, that is, kindred
derived from the blood of the male ancestor,
shall be admitted before those from the blood of
the female; unless when the lands have actually
descended from a female. Thus the relations
on the father's side are admitted, in infinitum,
before those on the mother's side are admitted
at all, and the relations of the father's father,
before those of the father's mother; and so
on.
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Illustration of
the above
rules. |
The above are the general rules relating to
descent; but it may be necessary to subjoin
thereto an observation, or two, to prevent a
misapplication of those rules--It appears above,
that inheritances shall not ascend, and therefore
the father shall not be entitled as the heir
to his son; that the half blood shall be excluded;
and that a person claiming as heir must
be of the whole blood of the first purchaser;
but it is to be observed, that when there is a
seisin, the rule being for the heir of the person
last seised to inherit, a consequence follows
from this rule, different from what might be
expected, on a speculative consideration of the
general rules of descent. The legal maxim is
that, seisinn facit stirpem, that is, seisin makes |
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