Full Description
This fourth volume in the Comparative Succession Law series provides a historical and comparative study of how and by whom the estates of deceased persons are administered, drawing upon the legal traditions of Europe and beyond. When a person dies, their assets (or their value) will transfer to those entitled to inherit them following the deceased's will or, in the absence of a will, according to the rules of intestate succession. Along the way, the assets have to be identified, located, collected in, and safeguarded. Debts owed by the deceased or arising from the death must likewise be identified and then met (if need be, with the proceeds from a sale of estate assets). The whole process by which this is done, from the time of the death until the time of final distribution of the assets to those entitled to receive them, is the subject of Administration of Estates. The topic has sometimes been neglected even within national legal systems, and systematic comparative analysis, at least in the English language, is almost wholly lacking. The volume thus seeks to fill an important gap in the field of comparative succession law.
Focusing on the legal systems of Europe and on countries which have been influenced by the European experience, the volume examines the law in Austria, England and Wales, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Scotland, and Spain, as well as presenting chapters on Australia and New Zealand, Canada, China, South Africa, South America, and the United States of America. The historical background to the main legal traditions in Europe is represented by chapters on Roman law, the customary law of early-modern Continental Europe, and English law before 1837.
Contents
Kenneth G C Reid, Jan Peter Schmidt, and Reinhard Zimmermann: Prologue
1: Sebastian Lohsse: Administration of Estates in Roman Law
2: Thomas Rüfner: Administration of Estates in Early-Modern Europe
3: Cécile Pérès: Administration of Estates in France
4: Gregor Christandl: Administration of Estates in Italy
5: Wilbert D Kolkman: Administration of Estates in the Netherlands
6: Sergio Cámara Lapuente: Administration of Estates in Spain
7: Jan Peter Schmidt: Administration of Estates in South America
8: Christiane Wendehorst: Administration of Estates in Austria
9: Lajos Vékás: Administration of Estates in Hungary
10: Reinhard Zimmermann: Administration of Estates in Germany
11: Elspeth Christie Reid: Administration of Estates in Russia
12: Neil Jones: Administration of Estates in English Law before the Wills Act 1837
13: Roger Kerridge: Administration of Estates in England and Wales
14: Kenneth G C Reid: Administration of Estates in Scotland
15: Prue Vines and Nicola Peart: Administration of Estates in Australia and New Zealand
16: Alexandra Popovici and Lionel Smith: Administration of Estates in Canada
17: Ronald J Scalise Jr: Administration of Estates in the United States of America
18: François du Toit: Administration of Estates in South Africa
19: Thomas Eeg: Administration of Estates in Norway
20: Knut Benjamin Pißler: Administration of Estates in the People's Republic of China
21: Reinhard Zimmermann and Jan Peter Schmidt: Administration of Estates in Historical and Comparative Perspective
Kenneth G C Reid, Jan Peter Schmidt, and Reinhard Zimmermann: Epilogue
