Page:An introduction to Roman-Dutch law.djvu/128

 Rh 88 THE LAW OF PERSONS under contracts concluded by the husband, or by the wife within the limits which the law allows ; ^ (5) property purchased stante matrimonio with common moneys,^ and even with the money (or with the proceeds of the sale of the property) of one of the spouses ; except that in the last case the matter must be adjusted between the spouses on the dissolution of the marriage.^ what it On the other hand, the term ' profits ' does not include : ^°Tde* (*) property which became due to one or other of the spouses before marriage ; * (6) accessions (e. g. by alluvion or increased value or otherwise) to the separate property of husband or wife ; (c) inheritances, legacies, or gifts accruing after the marriage to either spouse.®, With regard to this last group considerable difference of opinion existed whether it fell within the definition of ' profits ' or not. Most jxu:ists answered the question in the nega- tive.® Voet distinguishes according as such acquisitions are derived from strangers or from parents or relations, to whom there is a right of intestate succession. In his view, in the first case they are ' profits ', in the second not so.' It is with regard, more especially, to such acquisitions as these that it becomes important to deter- mine whether an ante-nuptial contract falls within the first or the second of the four classes mentioned above. ^ Hoola van Nooten, vhi sup. Voet, 23. 4. 33. ^ Voet, 23. 4. 35 ; i. e. the thing purchased remains common, but the spouse with whose money it was purchased is credited as against the other spouse with the money so expended. However, property purchased stante matrimonio will not become common if the husband intended to acquire it exclusively for himself or for his wife. V. d. K. (Th. 254) dissenting from Voet (23. 4. 34). Clothes are a case in point. Van Leeuwen, 4. 24. 14. marriage. V. d. K. Th. 254. The same rule applies to a res litigiosa adjudicated to one of the spouses after marriage, even though proceed- ings may have commenced after marriage. Voet, 23. 4. 40. ^ Anton. Matthaeus, Paroemiae, no. 3 (Erfnis is geenwinste) ; Van Leeuwen, 4. 24. 6 ; V. d. K. Th. 252. ' Gr. 2. 12. 11 {ad fin.), and Schorer ad loc. ' Voet, 23. 4. 43. Matthaeus (vbi sup., sees. 4-7) is of the same opinion with regard to legacies, but holds that an inheritance never comes under the head of ' profit '-
 * Voet, 23. 4. 39 ; e. g. bought before marriage, delivered after