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Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, , entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Officially bequest private property and/or debts can be performed by a testator via will, as attested by a notary or by other lawful means.
The inheritance may be either under the terms of a will or by intestacy laws if the deceased had no will. However, the will must comply with the laws of the jurisdiction at the time it was created or it will be declared invalid (for example, some states do not recognise Holographic will as valid, or only in specific circumstances) and the intestacy laws then apply.
The exclusion from inheritance of a person who was an heir in a previous will, or would otherwise be expected to inherit, is termed disinheritance.
A person does not become an heir before the death of the deceased, since the exact identity of the persons entitled to inherit is determined only then. Members of ruling noble or royal houses who are expected to become heirs are called Heir apparent if first in line and incapable of being displaced from inheriting by another claim; otherwise, they are Heir presumptive. There is a further concept of joint inheritance, pending renunciation by all but one, which is called Co-parceners.
In modern law, the terms ‘'inheritance'’ and '‘heir’' apply only to property passed by intestate succession that is, from a person who dies without a will. Property distributed under a will passes to beneficiary, who may be called devisees for real property, legatees for money, and recipients of bequests for other personal property.
Except in some jurisdictions where a person cannot be legally disinherited (such as the US state of Louisiana, which allows disinheritance only under specifically enumerated circumstances), a person who would otherwise be an heir may be disinherited completely under the terms of a will (an example is that of the will of comedian Jerry Lewis; his will specifically disinherited his six children by his first wife, and their descendants, leaving his entire estate to his second wife).
Inheritance has been compared to nepotism.
If there were no living sons and no descendants of any previously living sons, daughters inherit. In Numbers 27, the five daughters of Zelophehad come to Moses and ask for their father's inheritance, as they have no brothers. Hebrew-English Bible The order of inheritance is set out: a man's sons inherit first, daughters if no sons, brothers if he has no children, and so on. Hebrew-English Bible
Later, in Numbers 36, some of the heads of the families of the tribe of Manasseh come to Moses and point out that, if a daughter inherits and then marries a man not from her paternal tribe, her land will pass from her birth-tribe's inheritance into her marriage-tribe's. So a further rule is laid down: if a daughter inherits land, she must marry someone within her father's tribe. Hebrew-English Bible (The daughters of Zelophehad marry the sons' of their father's brothers. There is no indication that this was not their choice.)
The laws of Jewish inheritance are discussed in the Talmud,In tractate Baba Bathra in the Mishneh Torah and by Saadiah ben Joseph among other sources. All these sources agree that the firstborn son is entitled to a double portion of his father's estate. Hebrew-English Bible This means that, for example, if a father left five sons, the firstborn receives a third of the estate and each of the other four receives a sixth. If he left nine sons, the firstborn receives a fifth and each of the other eight receive a tenth. If the eldest surviving son is not the firstborn son, he is not entitled to the double portion.
Philo of AlexandriaSpec. Leg. 2.130 and JosephusAnt. 4.249 also comment on the Jewish laws of inheritance, praising them above other law codes of their time. They also agreed that the firstborn son must receive a double portion of his father's estate.
Three verses of the Quran, 4:11, 4:12 and 4:176, give specific details of inheritance and shares, in addition to few other verses dealing with testamentary.,, But this information was used as a starting point by Muslim jurists who expounded the laws of inheritance even further using Hadith, as well as methods of juristic reasoning like Qiyas. Nowadays, inheritance is considered an integral part of Sharia law and its application for Muslims is mandatory, though many peoples (see Historical inheritance systems), despite being Muslim, have other inheritance customs.
In cases of unequal inheritance, the majority might receive a small amount while the minority inherits a larger amount. The amount of inheritance is often far less than the value of a business initially given to the son, especially when a son takes over a thriving multimillion-dollar business, yet the daughter is given the balance of the actual inheritance amounting to far less than the value of the business that was initially given to the son. This is especially seen in old world cultures, but continues in many families to this day.Davies, James B. "The Relative Impact of Inheritance and Other Factors on Economic Inequality". The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol. 97, No. 3, pp. 471
Arguments for eliminating forced heirship include the right to property and the merit of individual allocation of capital over government wealth confiscation and redistribution, but this does not resolve what some describe as the problem of unequal inheritance. In terms of inheritance inequality, some economists and sociologists focus on the inter generational transmission of income or wealth which is said to have a direct impact on one's mobility (or immobility) and class position in society. Nations differ on the political structure and policy options that govern the transfer of wealth.Angel, Jacqueline L. Inheritance in Contemporary America: The Social Dimensions of Giving across Generations. p. 35
According to the American federal government statistics compiled by Mark Zandi in 1985, the average US inheritance was $39,000. In subsequent years, the overall amount of total annual inheritance more than doubled, reaching nearly $200 billion. By 2050, there will be an estimated $25 trillion inheritance transmitted across generations.Marable, Manning. "Letter From America: Inheritance, Wealth and Race." Google pages.com
Some researchers have attributed this rise to the baby boomer generation. Historically, the baby boomers were the largest influx of children conceived after WW2. For this reason, Thomas Shapiro suggests that this generation "is in the midst of benefiting from the greatest inheritance of wealth in history".Shapiro, Thomas M. The Hidden Cost of Being African American: How Wealth Perpetuates Inequality. Oxford University Press. 2004. p. 5 Inherited wealth may help explain why many Americans who have become rich may have had a "substantial head start". In September 2012, according to the Institute for Policy Studies, "over 60 percent" of the Forbes richest 400 Americans "grew up in substantial privilege", and often (but not always) received substantial inheritances.
Other research has shown that many inheritances, large or small, are rapidly squandered.Elizabeth O'Brien. One in three Americans who get an inheritance blow it , Market Watch.com Similarly, analysis shows that over two-thirds of high-wealth families lose their wealth within two generations, and almost 80% of high-wealth parents "feel the next generation is not financially responsible and/or enough to handle inheritance".Chris Taylor. 70% of Rich Families Lose Their Wealth by the Second Generation , Time.com, June 17, 2015 Legacy Matters
The first form of inheritance is the inheritance of cultural capital (i.e. linguistic styles, higher status social circles, and aesthetic preferences).(Edited By) Miller, Robert K., McNamee, Stephen J. Inheritance and Wealth in America. p. 2 The second form of inheritance is through familial interventions in the form of inter vivos transfers (i.e. gifts between the living), especially at crucial junctures in the life courses. Examples include during a child's milestone stages, such as going to college, getting married, getting a job, and purchasing a home. The third form of inheritance is the transfers of bulk estates at the time of death of the testators, thus resulting in significant economic advantage accruing to children during their adult years.(Edited By) Miller, Robert K., McNamee, Stephen L. Inheritance and Wealth in America. p. 4 The origin of the stability of inequalities is material (personal possessions one is able to obtain) and is also cultural, rooted either in varying child-rearing practices that are geared to socialization according to social class and economic position. Child-rearing practices among those who inherit wealth may center around favoring some groups at the expense of others at the bottom of the social hierarchy.Clignet, Remi. Death, Deeds, and Descendants: Inheritance in Modern America. p. 3
Often, racial or religious minorities and individuals from socially disadvantaged backgrounds receive less inheritance and wealth. As a result, mixed races might be excluded in inheritance privilege and are more likely to rent homes or live in poorer neighborhoods, as well as achieve lower educational attainment compared with whites in America.
Nations with the highest income and wealth inequalities often have the highest rates of homicide and disease (such as obesity, diabetes, and hypertension) which results in high mortality rates.page 20 of "The Spirit Level"by Wilkinson & Pickett, Bloomsbury Press 2009 A New York Times article reveals that the U.S. is the world's wealthiest nation, but "ranks twenty-ninth in life expectancy, right behind Jordan and Bosnia" and "has the second highest mortality rate of the comparable OECD countries". This has been regarded as highly attributed to the significant gap of inheritance inequality in the country,Dubner, Stephen. "How Big of a Deal Is Income Inequality? A Guest Post". The New York Times. August 27, 2008. although there are clearly other factors such as the affordability of healthcare.
When social and economic inequalities centered on inheritance are perpetuated by major social institutions such as family, education, religion, etc., these differing life opportunities are argued to be transmitted from each generation. As a result, this inequality is believed to become part of the overall social structure.Rokicka, Ewa. "Local policy targeted at reducing inheritance of inequalities in European countries." May 2006. Lodz.pl
Women's unequal inheritance rights refer to the disparities and discriminatory practices that women face in inheriting property and assets compared to men. These inequalities stem from a combination of legal, cultural, and religious practices that often prioritize male heirs over female ones, resulting in significant socio-economic consequences for women.
Bill Gates uses the term in his article "Why Inequality Matters".BILL GATES, "Why Inequality Matters", "LinkedIn", 15 October 2014
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