From the Foreword by Rubén F. Balane, Ateneo Law School professor: “Walking with Pedro through his multifarious, protean life as single, as married, and as widower, Atty. Rotor-Hilado explains to the reader the various possible kinds of heirs he might have and the various options he may choose to dispose of his estate. He may, of course, choose to leave this world without a will. To whom, then, will his properties go? Or he may decide to make a will. How much, then, can he give away? “Through this marvelous and informative book, Atty. Rotor-Hilado, using her lawyer’s knowledge and couching it in terms that are free of the ponderousness of legalese, guides the reader who is a non-lawyer to an adequate acquaintance with the law of succession—adequate, that is, as a basis for deciding to whom and in what amounts his estate should go when he himself goes . . . “I invite the reader, across the broad band of the economic spectrum, whether he owns a fortune or a piece of real estate the size of a flower pot, to embark on this information-filled journey through successional law.”

Presented and written in a friendly and engaging style, Dr Brian Sloan's revised edition is perfectly pitched for today's undergraduate students. Considerable attention is given to the area's rich and evolving case-law, illustrating the relevance of the law to modern life; the central issues and academic debates surrounding inheritance are discussed fully. New to this edition are an introductory chapter covering the demographic and policy context of succession, extensive further reading lists, and diagrams of key concepts, all presented in a clear, modernized design to aid understanding and ease navigation.

Preface Contents Abbreviations i Authors i part i Harmonization of Succession Law in Europe: The Current Debate chapter 1 Need and Opportunity of Convergence in European Succession Laws Walter Pintens chapter 2 Testamentary Freedom or Forced Heirship? Balancing Party Autonomy and the Protection of Family Members Andrea Bonomi part ii New Trends in Catalan Succession Law chapter 3 Between Tradition and Modernisation: A General Overview of the Catalan Succession Law Reform Esther Arroyo Amayuelas - Miriam Anderson chapter 4 Testamentary Freedom and Its Limits Esteve Bosch Capdevila chapter 5 Freedom of Testation, Compulsory Share and Disinheritance Based on Lack of Family Relationship Antoni Vaquer Aloy chapter 6 Freedom of Testation Versus Freedom to Enter Into Succession Agreements and Transaction Costs Susana Navas Navarro part iii National Perspectives on the Law of Succession in the 21st Century chapter 7 Freedom of Testation in England and Wales Roger Kerridge chapter 8 Law of Succession and Testamentary Freedom in Germany A. Röthel chapter 9 The Law of Succession in Hungary Zoltán Csehi chapter 10 Freedom of Testation in Italy Andrea Fusaro chapter 11 Acquisition of Property by Succession in Dutch Law. Tradition between Autonomy and Solidarity in a Changing Society J. Michael Milo chapter 12 The Norwegian Approach to Forced Share, the Surviving Spouse's Position and Irrevocable Wills Peter Hambro chapter 13 Restraints on Freedom of Testation in Scottish Succession Law Eric Clive chapter 14 Freedom of Testation in Slovenia Suzana Kraljić chapter 15 Freedom of Testation, Legal Inheritance Rights and Public Order under Spanish Law Sergio Cámara Lapuente.

This third volume in a series on Comparative Succession Law concerns the entitlement of family members to override the provisions of a deceased person's will to obtain money or assets (or more money or assets) from the person's estate. Some countries, notably those in the civil law tradition (such as France or Germany), confer a pre-ordained share of the deceased's estate or of its value on certain members of the deceased's family, and especially on the deceased's children and spouse. Other countries, notably those in the common law tradition (such as England, Canada, or Australia), leave the matter to the discretion of the court, the amount awarded depending primarily on financial need. Whichever form it takes, mandatory family provision is both a protection against disinheritance and also, therefore, a restriction on testamentary freedom. The volume focuses on Europe and on countries influenced by the European experience. In addition to detailed treatment of the law in Austria, England and Wales, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Scotland, and Spain, the book also has chapters on Australia and New Zealand, South Africa, the United States, Canada, the countries of Latin America, and the People's Republic of China. Some other countries are covered more briefly, and there is a separate chapter on Islamic law. The book opens with accounts of Roman law and of the law in medieval and early-modern Europe, and it concludes with a comparative assessment of the law as it is today in the countries and legal traditions surveyed in this volume.