Where There Is A Will... There May Not Be A Way

It seems it is loony season in the UK courts....again. A recent decision seems to suggest that the UK is moving towards a civil law type system which removes the right of individuals to decide who benefits from their estate on their death. Until now an individual could leave their property to whomever they wished without interference from the courts. It seems this is no longer the case. In countries which apply civil or Sharia law the state largely dictates what must happen to a person's wealth after their death. Such laws can be generically described as "forced heirship legislation". Provisions vary from country to country but in most civil law jurisdictions one third of the total estate must go to the surviving spouse, one third must be equally divided between children and a testator can do what he wishes with the remaining one third. Under Sharia law (applicable in most Muslim countries) there are even greater restrictions. The majority of each estate has to be