Inherited Wealth Book

Acknowledgments     vii
Introduction     1
Inheritance and Modern Society     1
Social Dimensions of Inheritance Law     12
The Right to Bequeath: Testamentary Freedom and the Individuality of Property     21
France: Equality versus the Freedom of Private Disposition over Property     23
Germany: Testamentary Freedom versus Family and Social Justice     50
United States: Equality of Opportunity versus Individual Rights of Disposition     69
Conclusion     80
Equality and Inclusion: The Inheritance Rights of the Family     83
The Principle of Equality in Intestacy Law     87
The Spouse in Intestacy Law     90
The Integration of Illegitimate Children into Inheritance Law     99
Conclusion     109
Political Structure and Inheritance Law: The Abolition of Entails     114
The Double Abolition of Substitutions in France     119
The Delayed Abolition of Fideikommisse in Germany     131
The Abolition of Entails in the American Revolution     156
Conclusion     163
Social Justice through Redistribution? The Taxation of Inheritance     167
Equality of Opportunity versus Private Property: The Estate Tax in the United States     171
"Sense of Family" versus Social Justice: The Inheritance Tax in Germany     209
Destruction of National Wealth? The Progressive Inheritance Tax in France     243
Conclusion     270
Conclusion: Discourses and Institutions     275
The Method of Content Analysis of Parliamentary Debates     295
Notes     299
References     343
Index     367