The law of succession rests on a single brute fact: you can't take it with you. The stock of wealth that turns over as people die is staggeringly large. In the United States alone, some $41 trillion will pass from the dead to the living in the first half of the 21st century. But the social impact of inheritance is more than a matter of money; it is also a matter of what money buys and brings about. Law and custom allow people many ways to pass on their property. As Friedman's enlightening social history reveals, a decline in formal rules, the ascendancy of will substitutes over classic wills, social changes like the rise of the family of affection, changing ideas of acceptable heirs, and the potential disappearance of the estate tax all play a large role in the balance of wealth. Dead Hands uncovers the tremendous social and legal importance of this rite of passage, and how it reflects changing values and priorities in American families and society.

A comprehensive and in-depth analysis of how courts in the countries of Commonwealth Africa decide claims under private international law.

This book deals with the Islamic law of will for the administration of Muslim estates. It examines the rules of Islamic law of wills in Malaysia in respect of testamentary provisions giving directions as to the administration of the estates and other matters. This is done in the context of the will of entrustment (wisoyah) in particular. The discussion focuses on the meaning of will of entrustment (wisoyah) its origin, its characteristics, its legality, its legal ruling and its creation which deal with four essential elements: testator (musi), executor (wasi), subject matter of will (musa fih) and formation (sighah). The discussion will also highlight the issues of testacy and intestacy with regard to Muslim estates. In what sense are these two terms to be taken by Muslims? The study attempts to examines various state enactments relating to Islamic law of wills. This requires some reference to the meaning of Islamic wills as understood at present and wills under civil law.

Includes entries for maps and atlases.