- The first condition for an inheritance was the existence of an heir. The heir was a universal successor, who took over not only the rights, but also the duties of the deceased. On acceptance of the inheritance, the heir became owner or debtor, according to the status of the deceased at the time of his death. Whoever wanted to avoid the unpleasant consequences of an inheritance had to refuse it.
- After Justinian's reform on the Roman law, heirs could accept the inheritance without becoming debtors. The heirs were able to use an inventory of the deceased's assets in order not to pay more than they had received.
- The deceased's own heirs were first entitled to inheritance and after them the closest agnatic relations (in male line) and the members of the gens. Justinian added the cognatic relations (in female line) instead of gens as the third category of heirs. Justinian's law gave the widow the right to one-quarter of the assets or an equal share if the deceased had more than three children.
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