William Hogarth's plate 1 from A Rake's Progress, "The Young Heir Takes Possession Of The Miser's Effects" as his inheritance. William Hogarth (10 November 1697 &ndash 26 October 1764 was a major English painter, printmaker, pictorial satirist, social critic A Rake's Progress is a series of eight paintings by 18th century English artist William Hogarth.

For the fantasy series featuring the book Eragon, see Inheritance Cycle. Eragon is a 2003 Fantasy novel written by Christopher Paolini, and the first book in the Inheritance Cycle, set in the mythical The Inheritance Cycle is a series of young-adult Fantasy novels by Christopher Paolini.

"Heir" and "Heiress" redirect here. For the men and women fragrances endorsed by Paris Hilton, see Heiress (fragrance). Heiress and Heir are women and men's fragrances from Parlux Fragrances and they are the third line of fragrances to be endorsed by For the record label, see Heiress Records. Heiress Records is a Record label. It is believed to be a sub-label of Warner Bros

Inheritance is the practice of passing on property, titles, debts, and obligations upon the death of an individual. Property is any physical or virtual entity that is owned by an individual Title is a legal term for a bundle of rights in a piece of property in which a party may own either a legal interest or an equitable interest The rights Debt is that which is owed usually referencing Assets owed but the term can cover other obligations An obligation is a requirement to take some course of action whether legal or moral. Death is the termination of the biological functions that define living Organisms It refers both to a specific It has long played an extremely important role in human societies.

Anthropology, sociology and law

Both anthropology and sociology have made detailed studies in this area. Anthropology (/ˌænθɹəˈpɒlədʒi/ from Greek grc ἄνθρωπος anthrōpos, "human" -λογία -logia) is the study of Sociology (from Latin: socius "companion" and the suffix -ology "the study of" from Greek λόγος lógos "knowledge" Many cultures feature patrilineal succession, also known as gavelkind, where only male children can inherit. Patrilineality (aka agnatic kinship) is a system in which one belongs to one's father's lineage it generally involves the Inheritance of property names or titles Gavelkind was a peculiar system of Land tenure associated chiefly with the county of Kent, but found also in other parts of England. Some cultures also employ matrilineal succession only passing property along the female line. Matrilineality is a system in which lineage is traced through the mother and maternal ancestors Other practices include primogeniture, under which all property goes to the eldest child, or often the eldest son, or ultimogeniture, in which everything is left to the youngest child. Primogeniture is the Common law right of the Firstborn son to inherit the entire estate, to the exclusion of younger siblings Ultimogeniture, also known as postremogeniture or junior right, is the tradition of Inheritance by the last-born of the entirety of or a privileged position Some ancient societies and most modern states employ partible inheritance, under which every child inherits (usually equally). Partible inheritance is a general term applied to systems of Inheritance in which property may be apportioned among Heirs It contrasts in particular Historically, there were also mixed systems:

• In eastern Swedish culture, from the 13th century until the 19th century, sons inherited twice as much as daughters. This rule was introduced by the Regent Birger Jarl, and it was regarded as an improvement in its era, since daughters were previously usually left without. born Birger Magnusson (c 1210 – 21 October 1266) was a Swedish statesman a member of the House of Bjelbo, who played a pivotal role
• Among ancient Israelites, the eldest son received twice as much as the other sons. See also History of ancient Israel and Judah According to the Bible, the Israelites were the dominant group living in the Land of Israel.
• Among Galician people it was typical that all children (both men and women) had a part of the inheritance, but one son (the one who inherited the house) inherited one-third of all the inheritance. Galicia (occasionally Galiza) is an autonomous community in northwest Spain. This son was called the mellorado. In some villages the mellorado even received two-thirds of all the inheritance. This two-thirds would be all the family's lands, while other children received their part in money.
• According to Islamic inheritance jurisprudence, sons inherit twice as much as daughters when no will is left. This is a sub-article to Islamic economical jurisprudence and Inheritance. In Common law, a will or testament is a document by which a person (the Testator) regulates the rights of others over his or her Property The complete laws governing inheritance in Islam are complicated and take into account many kinship relations (so wills are usually recommended), but in principle males inherit twice as females. There is one interesting exception: The Indonesian Minangkabau people from West part of Sumatra island despite being strong Muslims employ only complete matrilineal succession with property and land passing down from mother to daughter. The Republic of Indonesia ( (Republik Indonesia is a Country in Southeast Asia. The Minangkabau ethnic group (also known as Minang or Padang) is indigenous to the highlands of West Sumatra, in Indonesia. Sumatra (also spelled Sumatera) is the sixth largest island in the world (approximately 470000 km² and is the largest island entirely in Indonesia (two Matrilineality is a system in which lineage is traced through the mother and maternal ancestors They find no contradiction between their culture and faith.

Employing differing forms of succession can affect many areas of society. Gender roles are profoundly affected by inheritance laws and traditions. Primogeniture has the effect of keeping large estates united and thus perpetuating an elite. Primogeniture is the Common law right of the Firstborn son to inherit the entire estate, to the exclusion of younger siblings With partible inheritance large estates are slowly divided among many descendants and great wealth is thus diluted, leaving higher opportunities to individuals to make a success. (If great wealth is not diluted, the positions in society tend to be much more fixed and opportunities to make an individual success are lower. )

Inheritance can be organized in a way that its use is restricted by the desires of someone (usually of the decedent^[1]). An inheritance may have been organized as a fideicommissum, which usually cannot be sold or diminished, only its profits are disposable. A fideicommissum's succession can also be ordered in a way that determines it long (or eternally) also with regard to persons born long after the original descendant. Royal succession has typically been more or less a fideicommissum, the realm not (easily) to be sold and the rules of succession not to be (easily) altered by a holder (a monarch). An order of succession is a formula or algorithm that determines who inherits an office upon the death resignation or removal of its current occupant

In more archaic days, the possession of inherited land has been much more like a family trust than a property of an individual. History is the study of the past particularly the written record Those who study history as a Profession are called Historians Etymology Land in Economics comprises all naturally occurring resources whose supply is inherently fixed (i In Common law legal systems a trust is an arrangement whereby Property (including real tangible and intangible is managed by one person (or persons or organizations Even in recent years, the sale of the whole of or a significant portion of a farm in many European countries required consent from certain heirs, and/or heirs had the intervening right to obtain the land in question with same sales conditions as in the sales agreement in question.

In common law jurisdictions an heir is a person who is entitled to receive a share of the decedent's property via the rules of inheritance in the jurisdiction where the decedent died or owned property at the time of his death. Common law refers to law and the corresponding legal system developed through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive In Law, jurisdiction (from the Latin ius iuris meaning "law" and dicere meaning "to speak" is the practical Authority Strictly speaking, one becomes an heir only upon the death of the decedent. It is improper to speak of the "heir" of a living person, since the exact identity of the persons entitled to inherit are not determined until the time of death. In a case where an individual has such a position that only her/his own death before that of the decedent would prevent the individual from becoming an heir, the individual is called an heir apparent. An heir apparent is an Heir who (short of a fundamental change in the situation cannot be displaced from inheriting the term is used in contrast to Heir presumptive There is a further concept of jointly inheriting, pending renunciation by all but one, which is called coparceny. Coparcenary is the concept whereby two or more people inherit a title equally between them as a result of which none can inherit until all but one have renounced their right to the inheritance

In modern legal use, the terms inheritance and heir refer only to succession of property from a decedent who has died intestate (that is, without a will). Intestacy is the condition of the estate of a person who dies owning property greater than the sum of his or her enforceable debts and funeral expenses without having made a It is a common mistake to refer to the recipients of property through a will as heirs when they are properly called devisees or legatees.

Taxation

Many states have inheritance taxes or death duties, under which a portion of any estate goes to the government. Estate tax and Death duty redirect here Inheritance tax, estate tax and death duty are the names given to various taxes which Estate tax and Death duty redirect here Inheritance tax, estate tax and death duty are the names given to various taxes which For the government of parliamentary systems see Executive (government.

Notes

See also

• Succession order
• Inheritance Tax (United Kingdom)
• USA Today article on dilemma the rich face when leaving wealth to children
• Beneficiary