In civil law and Roman law, the legitime, or forced share, of a decedent's estate is that portion of the estate from which he can't disinherit his children, or his parents, without sufficient legal cause. The word comes from French héritier legitime, meaning "rightful heir." The legitime is usually a fraction of the entire property, which is then shared by the heirs. Where there's the law of legitime, and in the case where the testator has children, it isn't lawful for a testator with issue… (More on Legitime)