Inheritance is the practice of passing on
property,
titles,
debts, and
obligations upon the death of an individual. It has long played an extremely important role in human societies. Both
anthropology and
sociology have made detailed studies in this area. Many cultures feature
patrilineal succession, also known as
gavelkind, where only male children can inherit. Some cultures also employ
matrilineal succession only passing property along the female line. 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. Some ancient societies and most modern states employ
partible inheritance, under which every child inherits (usually equally). 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.Among ancient
Israelites, the eldest son received twice as much as the other sons.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. 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. The complete laws governing inheritance in Islam are complicated and take into account many kinship relations (so wills are usually recomended), 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. They find no contradiction between their culture and faith. Many states have
inheritance taxes, under which a portion of any estate goes to the
government, though the government technically is not an heir.
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