Individualism and Traditionalism in Inheritance Law in Germany, France, England, and the United States

Bibliographic Data

ID6079166
AuthorsBarbara Willenbacher (law faculty of Hannover University, corresponding author)
Year2003
Volume28
Issue1
Pages208-225
Publication date2003-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Family History (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0363-1990 • E-ISSN: 1552-5473
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0363199002238562
OpenAlexW2031774705
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited11

Civil and common-law traditions treat surviving spouses and children differently. The surviving spouse has come to be increasingly protected in common-law and civil law countries. But civil law countries restrict testamentary freedom to protect the shares of children, whereas common-law countries allow the children to be disinherited. The gulf between common-law and civil law countries is, however, in the process of being closed by sociolegal practice and law reforms. In practice, nuclear family members (the spouse and children) everywhere remain the most frequent beneficiaries of inheritances. The attribution of individualist or traditionalist traits to legal concepts of inheritance seems to be futile when legal history is taken into account. The social consequences of inheritance rules depend on the specific historical, social, and economic conditions under which the rules function

Common law · Comparative law · Family law · Individualism · Legal history · Political science · Public law · Sociology · Spouse · Testamentary trust · Conflict of Laws and Jurisdiction · Family and Matrimonial Law · Historical Legal Studies and Society · Law

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