Glossary entry (derived from question below)
French term or phrase:
La succession de feu [...], ouverte ab initio
English translation:
The estate of the late [...], initially opened ...
French term
Legal Translator MCIL
Native in: English (Variant: British) 
Works in: Spanish to English, French to English, Arabic to English
La succession de feu [...], ouverte ab initio
Opening phrase in a settlement agreement regarding a contested plot of land per an inheritance.
| 4 +4 | The estate of the late [...], initially opened ... |
B D Finch
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| 3 +5 | The estate of the late ..., opened ab initio |
Trevino Translations (X)
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Oct 22, 2018 02:53: GILLES MEUNIER changed "Level" from "PRO" to "Non-PRO"
Oct 26, 2018 17:06: B D Finch Created KOG entry
Non-PRO (3): Jennifer White, Rachel Fell, GILLES MEUNIER
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Proposed translations
The estate of the late [...], initially opened ...
www.plainenglish.co.uk/files/legalguide.pdf
https://www.gracelawson.com.au/plain-english-for-lawyers/
‘from the beginning’ instead of ‘ab initio’
Of course, if it's for the US, you can stick to the Latin.
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Note added at 5 hrs (2018-10-21 20:20:31 GMT)
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There are attempts at reform in Canada too:
https://globenewswire.com/news-release/2018/07/06/1534296/0/...
"Ontario law firm sponsors $2,500 Plain English Contest: Inter alia, the Party of the Second Part should always understand the contract terms of the Party of the First Part ab initio
"TORONTO, July 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Canadian business people shouldn’t have to waste their time translating “legalese” into English, according to Michael R. Henry, Managing Partner at Ontario-based law firm Houser Henry & Syron LLP (HHS).
"HHS is sponsoring a province-wide contest to identify and reward the most succinct, most precise and most easily understood contract in effect in Ontario this year. The winner of the contest will receive a $2,500.00 cash prize and a copy of The Canadian Oxford Dictionary."
The estate of the late ..., opened ab initio
| agree |
Tony M
: Well yes... but where was the problem?
21 mins
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| agree |
AllegroTrans
1 hr
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| agree |
philgoddard
: Or just "initially opened".
2 hrs
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| agree |
Azhar Zafar
4 hrs
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| agree |
writeaway
: Well, at least the start of the translation is now clear. Like Tony, I'm not sure what the problem is. Initially opened, as Phil suggested, also works of course if one wants to avoid using the Latin
5 hrs
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