Division Of Matrimonial Property On Death

The Property (Relationships) Act 1976 radically reformed the property rights of married and de facto couples whose relationships end on the death of one of the parties. The new rules were frequently portrayed as a mere extension of the provisions applicable on separation. However, RELATIONSHIP PROPERTY ON DEATH explains how differently the Act operates on death. RELATIONSHIP PROPERTY ON DEATH provides a coherent theory of the distinction between relationship property rules and succession rules as the basis for analysis and application of the new legislation.This book critically analyses the death provisions in detail, the options for surviving spouses and partners, the consequences of those options, and the various ways in which these consequences can be circumvented through asset and estate planning. It considers the rights of third parties, such as children of the relationship creditors, and others who may have a claim against the deceased spouse or partner. A team of seven expert authors, led by Nicola Peart, Margaret Briggs, and Mark Henaghan from the University of Otago, have put together this authoritative and highly accessible work. Lawyers, businesses, financial advisers, and academics who specialise in family and succession law will find this book essential reading for their work. Awarded the JF Northey Memorial Prize for Best New Zealand Legal Book published in 2004, this is a masterful analysis of a difficult subject.

Specialists in economics, law, psychology, and sociology provide a comprehensive examination of the disposition of property following a death.

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.