Succession law

Succession law examines what happens to an individual’s rights and liabilities at the time of their death. The subject builds upon Core private law topics, especially Trusts, Land Law and Contract, but focuses on the effect of death on private law rights. The topic’s practical importance has grown in recent years: more complex family structures, the growth of cognitive disorders (such as dementia) in an elderly population, and increasing property values, have each made inheritance disputes more prevalent. Although succession law links most obviously to other private law topics (especially Trusts), it also intersects with issues in family law. Where marriages end as a result of a death, succession law deals with issues regarding the maintenance and support of the surviving spouse and children of the deceased person. The topics we will examine on the course include:

1. Who should inherit on death? – we consider whether the legal system ought to allow complete freedom of testation, or whether some controls on the testator are justifiable.
2. Testamentary dispositions and wills – we examine the nature of gifts by will, their substantive requirements, and claims that can arise when they are defective
3. The notion of an “estate” – we will look at what happens when your legal personality passes to your executor on death.
4. The fiscal consequences of owning wealth – how inheritance tax can effect an inheritance and attempts by testators to avoid the tax.

By the end of this course, students should develop:

• An understanding of what a testamentary disposition is and the modes by which it can be made.
• An understanding of alternative modes of passing wealth on death.
• Knowledge of the concept of an “estate”, and how legal personality devolves upon death.
• Awareness of the fiscal consequences of owning wealth at the time of death and how this affects behaviour.