Article II. On The Dominion Of Children Of Families

26. Notions. Children of families are called all children of each sex, whether legitimate or legitimated, who are still constituted under paternal or maternal power. For having greater clarity and avoiding confusions, the following names must be distinguished:

a) An infant, or child, or little one, who has not yet completed the first seven-year period.

b) An impubes, who has not yet arrived at legal puberty, that is, at the 14th year of his age if he is a boy, or at the 12th year of age if she is a girl.⁸⁵

c) A minor or minor-aged person, who (whether impubes or pubes) has not yet attained the age of majority established by canon or civil law. In diverse nations there are diverse statutes concerning the age of majority; thus, for example, in Switzerland the completed 20th year constitutes majority, in Germany and in France it is the completed 21st year. The same is in canon law c. 88, § 1; in Austria it is the 24th year.

d) A major-aged son is not the same as an emancipated son, but as to practice there is a small difference, since an emancipated son does not indeed have the age of majority prescribed by law, but by the authority of a judge has been declared major-aged. Thus, for example, in Switzerland nuptials by that very fact give emancipation;⁸⁶ whence if some girl of 16 years has rightly entered nuptials according to civil law, by that very fact she is emancipated.

e) A legitimate child is he who was born from a valid or at least putative marriage.⁸⁷ Concerning him those things are valid which will be said below concerning the dominion of children of families.

f) But an illegitimate child, who was born from parents not joined in marriage, is not considered to be under the power of the father, but is of his own right. Hence those things which will be said below are not valid concerning him. And indeed an illegitimate child is not bound by so great gratitude toward his parents as a legitimate child; for he must often bear the disgrace of the parents and suffer many other inconveniences. Hence he is rightly considered to be of his own right. Whence German law establishes that an illegitimate child with respect to the mother and her blood-relatives has the same right which a legitimate child has with respect to his own parents; but the right of a parent does not belong to the mother.⁸⁸

⁸⁵ Cf. Cod. Iur. can. c. 88, § 2.

⁸⁶ Cod. civ. Helv. a. 14.

⁸⁷ Cod. iur. can. c. 1114.

⁸⁸ "The illegitimate child has, in relation to the mother and the relatives of the mother, the legal standing of a legitimate child" (Cod. civ. Germ. § 1705). "The mother does not have parental power over the illegitimate child" (ibid. § 1707).

27. Distinction Of Goods Which Pertain To Children Of Families. Roman law distinguishes the goods of children as castrensian, quasi-castrensian, adventitious, and profectitious.

Castrensian goods were those which a child of the family acquired by military service.

Quasi-castrensian goods were considered to be those which a child of the family acquired from the toga-wearing service, that is, from public offices, for example from the office of judge, advocate, physician, cleric.

Adventitious goods were those which came to the son from the mother, or from the maternal line, or by some other way, for example donation, inheritance, singular industry and labor; in one word: all those goods which came to the son without respect to the father.

Profectitious goods were considered to be those which came to the son from the father, or in view of the father, or which the son gained by doing business with the father's goods.

Modern civil codes are accustomed to distinguish only goods of two kinds of children of families, namely free goods, concerning which the son can dispose freely, and non-free goods, which pertain to the administration of the father and sometimes also to his usufruct. Which goods are free and which are non-free according to diverse civil codes will be said below.