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This ethnographic study focuses on inheritance and succession practices and sociopolitical stakes in present-day Marracuene in southern Mozambique. It explores how in contexts of rapid economic, social, cultural and political change, individuals, social actors and institutions deal with inheritance and succession rights, both when the property holders and incumbents are still alive and after they have passed away. Besides exploring legal processes, this study approaches inheritance and succession as social, cultural, economic and political processes. The study is based on twelve months of fieldwork, and, to a lesser extent, archival research. It focuses on inheritance and succession through five entry points. First, the study looks at how people deal with inheritance and succession rights pertaining to their own life situation. Second, it explores cultural understandings, as well as different strategies and arguments mobilized to secure and safeguard inheritance and succession rights. Third, the study investigates how individuals anticipate what is going to happen with inheritance and succession after their passing. Fourth, it explores how in global, national and local arenas rights and interests of traditionally weak social actors, such as widows and orphans, are defended and protected from disinheritance and dispossession. Fifth, the study analyses the extent to which local inheritance and succession practices relate to, and are influenced by, ongoing sociopolitical transformations, such as decentralization and urbanization, in Marracuene. Ethnographically, the study describes and analyzes actual inheritance and succession practices and strategies of individuals, kin groups and various sociopolitical institutions. The study furthermore describes and analyzes local politics, notably in relation to decentralization processes, so as to analyze the practical implications of the fact that chieftaincy and other community-based positions are nowadays defined as "community authorities," according to the Mozambican state law. The findings show that there are general principles of inheritance and succession: a man is supposed to transfer inheritance to his wife and children and to be succeeded by his eldest child. However, such principles are often overruled, which can lead to disinheritance and dispossession of widows and orphans. The actual inheritance and succession practices result from a combination of factors. They include the economic and cultural values of the properties and positions in question (and the ways through which they were acquired), the power and authority of the actors, the power relations between different social actors involved in each case, the normative orders referred to and their interpretation and practical implementation, and the institutions involved in the process of decision-making. Overall, people have different understandings of inheritance and succession that furthermore more influence practices. In a local context of legal pluralism, individuals and groups tend to combine different normative orders and practices to claim and secure their rights, or to protect themselves whenever their rights are questioned. Through detailed ethnographic descriptions, the study demonstrates that inheritance and succession are complex processes and depend on economic, social, cultural and political factors at play in specific circumstances.

Contents -- Preface -- Chapter 1. The Family and Inheritance Study in Perspective -- Introduction -- The Concept of Testamentary Freedom -- Family Continuity -- The Interest of Society, Probate Court, and Lawyers in Inheritance -- Contents -- Chapter 2. Inheritance and the Legal Prpcess -- Intestate Succession -- Testate Succession -- The Will Substitutes -- Conclusion -- Chapter 3. Perspectives and Design of Inheritance Study -- Previous Probate Studies -- Theoretical Perspectives -- Study Design -- Conclusion -- Chapter 4. Testacy Versus Intestacy -- Proportion of Testate Cases

Modern Britain is characterised by marked inequalities in the distribution of wealth, which continue to fuel controversy and arouse strong, if adverse, feelings. Originally published in 1979, Inheritance and Wealth Inequality in Britain provides detailed evidence on the relative importance of inherited and self-made wealth. It is the first major work in the field since Wedgwood's pioneering study in 1929, and represents a major contribution to current debates on justice and inequality.The study is based on more than fifteen years of detective work on successive genera

peer-reviewed ; Farm succession and inheritance is increasingly considered a complex phenomenon which not only affects core dimensions of farm family life but also the agricultural sector more widely. Intergenerational farm transfer in particular is increasingly viewed as fundamental to the sustainability and development of global agriculture. In the majority of EU countries, the average age of farmers is increasing, while the number of farmers under 40 years of age is decreasing. There is growing concern that this demographic trend may have negative impacts on the agricultural industry because it is younger and not older farmers who are associated with more efficient and effective production practices. The question of what motivates decisions to transfer farms is a complex one, and research to date has not apparently enlightened agricultural policy to the extent that current trends towards an ageing farm population are being managed. This research aims to investigate economic and financial aspects of the policy drivers of farm succession and inheritance in Ireland to understand what it is about the policy environment that is failing to stimulate higher levels of farm transfer. It draws on the Teagasc National Farm Survey data which provides Irish data to the Farm Accountancy Data Network in the European Commission. A hypothetical microsimulation model is used to investigate economic factors of farm transfers, with scenarios created to test these factors and their impacts on the transfer process. The Net Present Value (NPV) of income streams for farmers and their successors are calculated to assess which scenarios have the highest/lowest financial effects. The findings illustrate a range of possible scenarios for farm succession/inheritance, with some results indicating that under current policy retaining a farm until death may be more economically beneficial to a farmer than transferring land before death.

The theme of this book is the analysis of the changes that have occurred in the kinship patterns of the Toka of South Zambia as a result of a shift in their form of production from hoe agriculture to ox-drawn ploughing. Dr Holy uses the rich, detailed ethnography that he provides about these changes to confront several theoretical issues of current anthropological interest, as well as to examine the basic methodological problems of anthropological enquiry. Emphasizing the distinction between the conceptual and cognitive world of the actors, and the transactions and events in which they engage, he argues that anthropological explanation has to account not only for structure, but also for the purposeful interaction between actors that generates that structure

Renowned scholar of comparative private law Alexandra Braun examines the law of testamentary promises, details what happens when these promises are broken, and compares how and when the interests of beneficiaries of testamentary promises are protected across a number of legal systems.