Různé formy správy sirotčího majetku v královských městech v období raného novověku
Forms of Orphan’s Property Trusteeshipv in the Royal Towns in the Early Modern Era

Summary/Abstract: The legal institute of guardianship, as defined by the Town Law of the Kingdom of Bohemia and the March of Moravia, which was confirmed in the year 1579 and expired with the publication of the General Civil Code in the year 1811, ensured underage orphans and their property legal protection. There were different kinds of orphan’s property trusteeship and the respective form depended on the initial account balance of the property. In a case when debts exceeded the receivables, the whole or a part of the property was generally sold. The yield of sale was then kept in the orphan’s treasury at the Town Hall. Often the Town Council and the orphan’s guardians used this money for granting loans. This kind of orphan’s property trusteeship was not prohibited by the Town Law, on the contrary, it was recommended as a means of increasing it. The trusteeship was repeatedly controlled during the accountin record inspections, and during the fi nal settlement before the handing over of the property from the guardian to the orphan of full legal age. The simple accounting records do not allow for a thorough inspection today, so the potential exploitation of the orphans from the guardians or the town is seldom capable of proof.

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