Inheritance laws
Inheritance laws govern the distribution of a person's property and assets after their death. These laws dictate who is entitled to inherit the deceased person's estate and in what proportions. They also address issues such as wills, trusts, and intestacy (when a person dies without a will).
6 Key excerpts on "Inheritance laws"
eBook - ePub- David Barker(Author)
- 2014(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...Chapter 11 The law of succession Key points ● formalities and revocation of a will ● variation of a will in favour of family members ● appointment and duties of personal representatives ● intestacy When A transfers property to B it may be said that B ‘succeeds’ to that property, i.e. takes over the rights owned by the transferor. In law the word ‘succession’ has a special meaning. When we speak of ‘universal succession’ it may refer to two classes; (a) succession on death and (b) succession on bankruptcy. This chapter deals with succession on death. Obviously a person cannot own property or exercise rights over property when dead. The law bows to inevitable facts: other persons will succeed to the property owned or possessed by the deceased. All systems of law have certain rules of succession that lay down how, and to whom, the property of a deceased person is to be distributed. Where a person makes a valid will stating how their property is to be distributed they are said to die ‘testate’ (from the Latin word testari, to make a will). Where a person leaves no will, or an invalid will, they are said to die ‘intestate’. 11.1 Wills From an early date the law recognized the right of a person to make a will showing to whom personal property should descend. In medieval times a person had no right to dispose of freehold land as the strict feudal law laid down that the land had to devolve on the heir at law. Later, the Statute of Military Tenures 1660 permitted a male freeholder to devise (i.e. leave by will) lands, and the introduction of the ‘use’ provided a further means of making dispositions of freehold property on death. Birth, marriage and death have always been of immediate concern to the Church. In Norman and medieval times the Church courts (separate from the lay courts) adjudicated on wills of personal property, including leaseholds...
eBook - ePub- David L.A. Barker(Author)
- 2020(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...Chapter 11 The law of succession Key points formalities and revocation of a will variation of a will in favour of family members appointment and duties of personal representatives intestacy When A transfers property to B it may be said that B ‘succeeds’ to that property, i.e. takes over the rights owned by the transferor. In law the word ‘succession’ has a special meaning. When we speak of ‘universal succession’ it may refer to two classes: (a) succession on death and (b) succession on bankruptcy. This chapter deals with succession on death. Obviously a person cannot own property or exercise rights over property when dead. The law bows to inevitable facts: other persons will succeed to the property owned or possessed by the deceased. All systems of law have certain rules of succession that lay down how, and to whom, the property of a deceased person is to be distributed. Where a person makes a valid will stating how their property is to be distributed they are said to die ‘testate’ (from the Latin word testari, to make a will). Where a person leaves no will, or an invalid will, they are said to die ‘intestate’. 11.1 Wills From an early date the law recognized the right of a person to make a will showing to whom personal property should descend. In medieval times a person had no right to dispose of freehold land as the strict feudal law laid down that the land had to devolve on the heir at law. Later, the Statute of Military Tenures 1660 permitted a male freeholder to devise (i.e. leave by will) lands, and the introduction of the ‘use’ provided a further means of making dispositions of freehold property on death. Birth, marriage and death have always been of immediate concern to the Church. In Norman and medieval times the Church courts (separate from the lay courts) adjudicated on wills of personal property, including leaseholds...
eBook - ePubThe Law (in Plain English) for Galleries
A Guide for Selling Arts and Crafts
- Leonard D. DuBoff, Christopher Perea(Authors)
- 2020(Publication Date)
- Allworth(Publisher)
...If there are no surviving persons in any of these categories, the estate will go to surviving grandparents and their direct descendants. In this way, the family tree is constantly expanded in search of surviving relatives. The laws of intestate succession make no provision for friends, in-laws, or stepchildren. If none of the persons specified in the law of intestate succession survive the testator, the intestate’s property ultimately goes to the state. This reversion of property to the state in the absence of legal heirs is known as escheat. State law will often provide a testator’s surviving spouse with certain benefits from the estate even if the spouse is left out of the testator’s will. Historically, these benefits were known as dower, in the case of a surviving wife, or curtesy, in the case of a surviving husband. The historical concepts of dower and curtesy are in large part a result of the law’s traditional recognition of an absolute duty on the part of the husband to provide for the wife. Modern laws are perhaps better justified by the notion that most property in a marriage should be shared because the financial success of either partner is due to the efforts of both. In place of the old dower and curtesy, modern statutes give the surviving spouse the right to elect against the will and, thereby, receive a share equal to at least one fourth of the estate. Here again, state laws vary—in some states, the surviving spouse’s elective share is one third. ADVANTAGES TO HAVING A WILL A will affords one the opportunity to directly distribute one’s property and to give gifts conditionally, when that is preferred. For example, if an individual wishes to donate certain property to a specific charity but only if certain conditions are adhered to, a will can make such conditions a prerequisite to the donation. A will permits the testator to nominate an executor—called a personal representative in some states—to watch over the estate...
eBook - ePub- (Author)
- 2012(Publication Date)
- Straightforward Publishing Digital(Publisher)
...Chapter 1 Explaining Inheritance Tax-General Principles In this chapter we will be looking at the following areas: • Definition of inheritance tax (IHT) • The law underpinning IHT • The concept of domicile and IHT • The making of gifts and transfers of value • Items excluded from IHT • Items that attract IHT • Exempt gifts A definition of inheritance tax Inheritance tax is, basically, a tax on giving before death in the form of gifts or after death through a will or through the administration of a person’s affairs if a will is not left. For general purposes, anything over £325,000 (2011-2012) is payable at 40%. There are a number of ways to minimise inheritance tax liability as we will see. The Legislation covering inheritance tax The law governing inheritance tax is based on the Inheritance Tax Act 1984 as amended. Fundamentally, inheritance tax becomes payable after death or when there is what is known as a transfer of value as the result of a transfer of property (such as the making of a gift or gifts) or a failure to act, unless the transfer or failure is within one of the exemptions allowed for, which will be outlined later. In this case it is known as an exempt disposition. A transfer is also exempt if the property in respect of which the transfer takes place is an excluded property or excluded gift. The tax payable is less if the inheritance relief’s specified in the Act notionally reduce either the value of the property or the tax itself. The Concept of Domicile Although there are other taxes, none of these are affected by domicile as is IHT (domicile or tax residence arises if the taxpayer has his or her residence in the state where he or she spends most of their time)...
eBook - ePubLegal History and Comparative Law
Essays in Honour of Albert Kilralfy
- Richard Plender(Author)
- 2018(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...Confusion is worse confounded by the fact that Common Law States make a distinction between (1) administration of an estate (governed by the law of the forum) and (2) succession to the net estate after it has been fully administered, while Civil Law States have no such distinction. In Common Law States there must always be personal representatives with the function of collecting the assets, paying off the debts, taxes and expenses, and then distributing any balance to the beneficiaries under the will or the intestacy rules. In Civil Law States, as a general rule, the beneficiaries stand in the shoes of the deceased and take over his property and his personal liabilities unless they disclaim their interests within a certain period during which the deceased’s solvency needs to be assessed so far as possible. II Preparation of a Draft Convention In an attempt to produce international agreement on the appropriate applicable law for governing succession to a deceased’s estate a draft Convention 1 was produced under the auspices of the Hague Conference on Private International Law...
eBook - ePubInheritance Tax Made Simple
The essential guide to understanding inheritance tax
- Andrew Komarnyckyj(Author)
- 2011(Publication Date)
- Harriman House(Publisher)
...There may be other circumstances in which a transfer will take place. The remainder of the book will often refer to “transfers of value”, or simply to “transfers”. If you find this confusing, you can refer to this section to refresh your memory on what a transfer consists of and what might be defined as a transfer. Summary Inheritance tax is a tax on the transfer of wealth on death and on transfers of wealth made within seven years of death...
