Page:Laws of Hammurabi, King of Babylonia.djvu/23

Rh daughter by her husband, her husband shall be entitled to deduct from the dowry, which belongs to her father, the amount thereof, and shall then pay whatsoever remains of the dowry to her father.

165. In event a father during his lifetime gives to a favored son his field and executes conveyance thereof to that son and then dies and leaves other sons, the favored son shall receive from his father's estate the field presented to him during the lifetime of his father and the balance of his estate shall be divided among those not so favored.

166. In event he chooses wives for his adult sons, before his minor sons attain maturity, and then dies, the adult sons shall divide the property equally among themselves, after having set aside a sufficient portion of the estate, to enable their minor brothers to provide grain treasure with which to purchase wives.

167. If anyone marries a woman who bears him children and the mother thereupon dies, and the husband then remarries and has children by his second wife, and thereupon the husband dies, the property shall be divided among all the children per capita. The property left by the first wife shall go to her children and that of the second wife to her children.

168. Anyone proposing to disinherit his son shall go before a tribunal and there declare his intentions to so do, whereupon a hearing shall be had and if the son is found to be not guilty of conduct which shall justify his disinheritance, the father shall not be permitted to disinherit him.

169. In event the father establishes misconduct on the part of the son, such as would justify disinheritance, the son shall be forgiven for the first offence, but upon repetition thereof shall be deemed guilty of having committed a grave offence and shall be disinherited.

170. If a man marries a woman who bears him sons and he also has children by a slave, who, during the father's lifetime, were recognized as his sons and declared to be such, and the father then dies, the children of both the wife and the slave shall divide equally the father's estate. Nevertheless the children of the wife shall be preferred in the choosing of the portions of said divisions.

171. In event, however, the father of children by a slave does not recognize them during his lifetime as his children, "my sons," the children of the slave shall not be entitled to share with the children of the wife, upon the death of the father, but the slave and her children shall be emancipated and no claim upon their services shall be permitted to be made by children of the wife. The wife shall be permitted to receive her dowry and the property given her by her husband during his lifetime, by written conveyance, and shall have the use and occupation of her deceased husband's house, so long as she shall live, which house may not be sold upon her husband's death. The property of the wife shall descend to her children.

172. In event the husband has bestowed no gift during her lifetime upon the wife, she shall receive her dowry and in addition thereto, a portion of her husband's estate commensurate with the portion of all of her children. In event her sons eject her from the homestead, she may proceed before a tribunal and there assert her claim; if it be proved that her sons have wrongfully ejected her, she may remain in her husband's house. In event a widow desires to leave her husband's house she shall bestow upon her sons the gifts which her husband had given her, but she may retain her dowry and remarry if she desires.

173. In event a widow marries and there is issue born to her and