Inheritance

300px|thumb|From William Hogarth's ''[[A Rake's Progress''. "The Young Heir Takes Possession Of The Miser's Effects".]]

Primogeniture () is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn legitimate child to inherit all or most of their parent's estate, as well as succeed their parent as the ruler of a state.

three-party fiduciary relationship

An appanage, or apanage (; ), is the grant of an estate, title, office or other thing of value to a younger child of a monarch, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture (where only the eldest inherits). It was common in much of Europe.

ordered list of individuals in line to take on a given position should the office become vacant

person who is first in line of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting, except by death or a change in the rules of succession

Title of nobility used by a man because his wife holds it in her own right

value of a person's assets minus their liabilities

tax paid by a person who inherits the estate of a natural person who has died

declaring person legally dead despite the absence of direct proof of the person's death, such as the finding of remains

person entitled to inherit a honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of a person with a better claim to the position in question

An executor is someone who is responsible for executing, or following through on, an assigned task or duty. The feminine form executrix is sometimes seen in historical documents. The term usually means an executor of a dead person's estate, which is someone whom a will and testament appoints to administer the dead person's estate and distribute their property as the will directs.

agnatic seniority is the showing preference of the male bloodline, specifically for the younger son in the selection of a new ruler

thumb|300px|Forced heirship rules by country In civil law and Roman law, the legitime (), also known as a forced share or legal right share, of a decedent's estate is that portion of the estate from which they cannot disinherit their children, or their parents, without sufficient legal cause. The word comes from French , meaning "rightful heir."

thumb|Agnatic ultimogeniture diagram. The grey square is the current holder of the property, the black squares are deceased, the numbers indicate his potential successors in order of succession as things stand. Ultimogeniture, also known as postremogeniture or junior right, is the tradition of inheritance by the last-born of a privileged position in a parent's wealth or office. The tradition has been far rarer historically than primogeniture (sole inheritance by the first-born) or partible inheritance (division of the estate among the children).

Tanistry was a system of inheritance practised by the Gaelic nobilities of Ireland, the Isle of Man, and parts of modern Scotland. It was distinctive in having an elected heir known as the tanist (; ; ). This system was used to select the Chiefs of the Name (head of a clan) and the rulers of the various Gaelic kingdoms in Ireland and in Scotland.

birth after the death of a parent

The '''''' ("Hereditary Lands") of the House of Habsburg formed the Alpine heartland of the Habsburg monarchy. They were the hereditary possessions of the Habsburgs within the Holy Roman Empire from before 1526. The were not all unified under the head of the dynasty prior to the 17th century. They were divided into several groupings: the Archduchy of Austria, Inner Austria, the County of Tyrol, and Further Austria.

In common law jurisdictions, probate is the judicial process whereby a will is "proved" in a court of law and accepted as a valid public document that is the true last testament of the deceased; or whereby, in the absence of a legal will, the estate is settled according to the laws of intestacy that apply in the jurisdiction where the deceased resided at the time of their death.

thumb|A father disowning his daughter in the 1913 film ''The Jew's Christmas'' Disownment occurs when a parent, sibling, or relative renounces or no longer accepts a child or relative as a family member. It might be due to actions perceived as reprehensible or lead to severe emotional consequences. Different from giving a child up for adoption, disownment is a social and interpersonal act and may take place later in the child's life, which means that the disowned child would have to make arrangements for future care. Among other things, it implies no responsibility for future care, making it s

A secundogeniture (from 'following, second', and 'born') was a dependent territory given to a younger son of a princely house and his descendants, creating a cadet branch. This was a special form of inheritance in which the second and younger son received more possessions and prestige than the apanage which was usual in principalities practising primogeniture. It avoided the generational division of the estate to the extent that occurred under gavelkind, and at the same time gave younger branches a stake in the stability of the house.

form of trust in English common law

doctrine that the sins of our ancestors lead to the punishment of their descendants

Passing down of digital assets after a person's death

Gavelkind () was a system of land tenure chiefly associated with the Celtic law in Ireland and Wales and with the legal traditions of the English county of Kent.

economic endowment for all citizens upon reaching a certain age

five sisters mentioned in the Hebrew Bible

Latin phrase regarding the inheritance rights of a fetus

medieval Russian system of succession

latin phrase meaning "by right of his mother"

court that has competence in a jurisdiction to deal with matters of probate and the administration of estates

form of testate partible inheritance

legal term used in the Salian code

European Court of Human Rights case

Act of the Parliament of India