Nasciturus pro iam nato habetur, quotiens de commodis eius agitur is a Latin legal maxim that refers to a law that grants or protects the right of a fetus to inherit property.
The principle was reified in Roman law and continues to be implemented today in most European nations, in the Americas (where the fetus is sometimes legally considered to be a person), and in South Africa.
When considered a legal exception, it is thought to apply exclusively for the purposes of inheritance and that conditions must be satisfied for it to be valid, primarily that the fetus has to be born.
Notable cases of the application of the maxim include the following monarchs: John I, the short-lived, posthumous son of King Louis X, who inherited the throne of France in utero and, upon birth, he reigned for the five days of his post-natal life in 1316.
In 1439, king Albert II of Germany died and next year his son Ladislaus the Posthumous succeeded him in Bohemia and Austria.