.A child born
after fix
months from
the date of a
marriage
upon which
is fulpended
a conditional
divorce, is
the lawful
offspring o f
fuch marriage.
C H A m XIII.
Of the ILfiabliJhment of Tarentage.
I f a man make a declaration, faying “ i f I marry fuch a woman Die
“ is divorced,” and he afterwards marry her, and fhe produce a child
after fix months from the day of the marriage * , the parentage of the
child is eftablilhed in him, and the dower is incumbent upon himj
the former is eftablilhed, becaufe the. wife is in this .cafe confidered
as .a partner o f his bed at the period of conception, as having brought
forth a child at the expiration of fix complete months from the date«
the marriage, a time confiderably pofterior to the divorce, fince that
takes place immediately after the marriage, wherefore the concep t«
muft be confidered as having taken place prior to the divorce, that is,-
■ within the marriage.
O b j e c t io n .— It is not to be imagined that conception Ihould take
place at the time of marriage, as it is a oonfequence of the carnal aflr,1
which happens pofterior to it; how, therefore, can it be eftablilhed
that the conception took place before divorce, fince the latter occurs
upon theinfthnt of the marriage?
R e p l y .— Conception may be imagined upon the inftant of the
marriage, as it is poffible that the man may marry the woman whilft
in the commiflion of the carnal adl, and confequentiy, that marriage
* This means any time between fix months and two years from the date of the marriage,
as the former of thefe is held to be the JhorteJl, and the latter the longeji poflible
term of pregnancy.
, - " - " and
and conception may have taken place at the fame inftant: and as
genealogy is a matter the, eftablilhment of which is of great moment,
this fuppofition has therefore been adopted : and the dower is incumbent,
becaufe the defcent of the child being eftablilhed in him, he is
virtually held to have cohabited with his w ife ; and it is due on account
of confummation.
If a man repudiate his wife by a divorce reverfible, and Ihe bring
forth a child at the end of two years, or more, from the time of the-
divorce, the parentage o f the child is eftablilhed in him, and the divorce1-
is reverfed, provided Ihe had not before declared the accomplilhment
of her Edit, becaufe it is poflible that her pregnancy may have taken
place during Edit, as the ‘Eohar (or term of purity) offome women is
much longer than that of others, which circumftance may have pro-'
trailed its continuance: but,if Ihe be delivered of a child within*/?
than two years from the time of divorce, Ihe becomes completely fe-
parated from her hulband, on account of the completion of her Edit
by delivery: and in this cafe alfo the parentage of the child is -eftablilhed;
in the hulband, becaufe it is as poflible that the conception may have
taken place .previous to divorce, .(that is, within the marriage,) as it
is that.,rit may have taken place after divorce, (that is, within
the E d it:) but yet r-everfal is not eftablilhed, becaufe, as it is poffible
that conception took place after divorce, fo it is alfo poflible that
it took place before' divorce; wherefore reverfal cannot be eftablilh-.
ed, on account of the doubt which exifts on this point: but where,
the yvoman is not delivered until after two years, reverfal is eftablilhed,
as the conception is pofterior to divorce, and muft be attributed to the ■
hulband, fince no charge o f adultery has; been advanced againft the-
wife, wherefore it -is evident that he has had connexion with her.
during Edit, a circumftance by which reverfal is eftablilhed.
If a man repudiate his wife either by three divorces, or by an ir-
reveriible divorce, and Ihe be delivered.of a child within lefs than two,
V O L . I . C^ cc rc ' vears
The parent age
of a child
born two
years after
reverfible
divorce is
eftablilhed in
the divorcer j
and fo alfo,
of a child
born 'within
two years