Editing Inheritance (section)

==Inequality==
[[File:Inheritance by amount and distribution received and action taken with inheritances in Great Britain between 2008 and 2010.png|thumb|Inheritance by amount and distribution received and action taken with inheritances in Great Britain between 2008 and 2010]]
The distribution of the inherited wealth has varied greatly among different cultures and legal traditions. In nations using [[Civil law (legal system)|civil law]], for example, the right of children to inherit wealth from parents in pre-defined ratios is enshrined in law,<ref>Julia Twigg and Alain Grand. [https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/ageing-and-society/article/contrasting-legal-conceptions-of-family-obligation-and-financial-reciprocity-in-the-support-of-older-people-france-and-england/4BC6D311ADC015B66FEB13899C638149 Contrasting legal conceptions of family obligation and financial reciprocity in the support of older people: France and England] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180201020253/https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/ageing-and-society/article/contrasting-legal-conceptions-of-family-obligation-and-financial-reciprocity-in-the-support-of-older-people-france-and-england/4BC6D311ADC015B66FEB13899C638149 |date=2018-02-01 }} Ageing & Society, 18(2) March 1998, pp. 131-146</ref> as far back as the [[Code of Hammurabi]] (ca. 1750 BC).<ref>Edmond N. Cahn. Restraints on Disinheritance University of Pennsylvania Law Review and American Law Register, Vol. 85, No. 2 (Dec., 1936), pp. 139-153</ref>  In the US State of Louisiana, the only US state where the legal system is derived from the [[Napoleonic Code]], this system is known as "[[forced heirship]]" which prohibits disinheritance of adult children except for a few narrowly-defined reasons that a parent is obligated to prove.<ref>43 Loy. L. Rev. 1 (1997-1998)
[http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/loyolr43&div=8&id=&page= The New Forced Heirship in Louisiana: Historical Perspectives, Comparative Law Analyses and Reflections upon the Integration of New Structures into a Classical Civil Law System] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180429013808/http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals%2Floyolr43&div=8&id=&page= |date=2018-04-29 }}</ref> Other legal traditions, particularly in nations using [[common law]], allow inheritances to be divided however one wishes, or to disinherit any child for any reason.

In cases of unequal inheritance, the majority might receive a small amount while the minority inherits a larger amount. The amount of inheritance is often far less than the value of a business initially given to the son, especially when a son takes over a thriving multimillion-dollar business, yet the daughter is given the balance of the actual inheritance amounting to far less than the value of the business that was initially given to the son. This is especially seen in old world cultures, but continues in many families to this day.<ref>Davies, James B. "The Relative Impact of Inheritance and Other Factors on Economic Inequality". The ''[[Quarterly Journal of Economics]]'', Vol. 97, No. 3, pp. 471</ref>

Arguments for eliminating forced heirship include the right to property and the merit of individual allocation of capital over government wealth confiscation and redistribution, but this does not resolve what some{{who|date=January 2018}} describe as the problem of unequal inheritance. In terms of inheritance inequality, some economists and sociologists focus on the inter generational transmission of income or wealth which is said to have a direct impact on one's mobility (or immobility) and class position in society. Nations differ on the political structure and policy options that govern the transfer of wealth.<ref>Angel, Jacqueline L. Inheritance in Contemporary America: The Social Dimensions of Giving across Generations. p. 35</ref>

According to the American federal government statistics compiled by Mark Zandi in 1985, the average US inheritance was $39,000. In subsequent years, the overall amount of total annual inheritance more than doubled, reaching nearly $200 billion. By 2050, there will be an estimated $25 trillion inheritance transmitted across generations.<ref name="Marable">Marable, Manning. "Letter From America: Inheritance, Wealth and Race." [http://frontierweekly.googlepages.com/inheritance-38-48.pdf Google pages.com] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081216223207/http://frontierweekly.googlepages.com/inheritance-38-48.pdf |date=2008-12-16 }}</ref>

Some researchers have attributed this rise to the [[baby boomer]] generation. Historically, the baby boomers were the largest influx of children conceived after WW2. For this reason, [[Thomas Shapiro]] suggests that this generation "is in the midst of benefiting from the greatest inheritance of wealth in history".<ref>Shapiro, Thomas M. The Hidden Cost of Being African American: How Wealth Perpetuates Inequality. Oxford University Press. 2004. p. 5</ref> Inherited wealth may help explain why many Americans who have become rich may have had a "substantial head start".<ref name="Salon-20140324">{{cite web |last=Bruenig |first=Matt |title=You call this a meritocracy? How rich inheritance is poisoning the American economy |url=http://www.salon.com/2014/03/24/death_of_meritocracy_how_inheritance_is_poisoning_the_american_economy/ |date=March 24, 2014 |work=[[Salon (website)|Salon]] |access-date=August 24, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140731075606/http://www.salon.com/2014/03/24/death_of_meritocracy_how_inheritance_is_poisoning_the_american_economy/ |archive-date=July 31, 2014 }}</ref><ref name="ECO-20140318">{{cite news |author=Staff |title=Inequality – Inherited wealth |url=https://www.economist.com/blogs/buttonwood/2014/03/inequality |date=March 18, 2014 |newspaper=[[The Economist]] |access-date=August 24, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140826120159/http://www.economist.com/blogs/buttonwood/2014/03/inequality |archive-date=August 26, 2014 }}</ref> In September 2012, according to the [[Institute for Policy Studies]], "over 60 percent" of the [[Forbes 400|Forbes richest 400 Americans]] "grew up in substantial privilege", and often (but not always) received substantial inheritances.<ref name="OW-20120924">{{cite web |last=Pizzigati |first=Sam |title=The 'Self-Made' Hallucination of America's Rich |url=http://inequality.org/selfmade-myth-hallucinating-rich/ |date=September 24, 2012 |work=[[Institute for Policy Studies]] |access-date=August 24, 2014}}</ref>

Other research has shown that many inheritances, large or small, are rapidly squandered.<ref>Elizabeth O'Brien. [https://www.marketwatch.com/story/one-in-three-americans-who-get-an-inheritance-blow-it-2015-09-03 One in three Americans who get an inheritance blow it] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180201075258/https://www.marketwatch.com/story/one-in-three-americans-who-get-an-inheritance-blow-it-2015-09-03 |date=2018-02-01 }}, Market Watch.com</ref> Similarly, analysis shows that over two-thirds of high-wealth families lose their wealth within two generations, and almost 80% of high-wealth parents "feel the next generation is not financially responsible [and/or competent] enough to handle inheritance".<ref>Chris Taylor. [https://money.com/rich-families-lose-wealth/ 70% of Rich Families Lose Their Wealth by the Second Generation] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210628185058/https://money.com/rich-families-lose-wealth/|date=June 28, 2021}}, Time.com, June 17, 2015</ref><ref>[https://legacy-matters.co.uk/ Legacy Matters]</ref>

===Social stratification===
It has been argued that inheritance plays a significant effect on [[social stratification]]. Inheritance is an integral component of family, economic, and legal institutions, and a basic mechanism of [[class stratification]]. It also affects the [[distribution of wealth]] at the societal level. The total cumulative effect of inheritance on stratification outcomes takes three forms, according to scholars who have examined the subject.

The first form of inheritance is the inheritance of [[cultural capital]] (i.e. linguistic styles, higher status social circles, and aesthetic preferences).<ref name="Edited by">(Edited By) Miller, Robert K., McNamee, Stephen J.  Inheritance and Wealth in America. p. 2</ref> The second form of inheritance is through familial interventions in the form of ''inter vivos'' transfers (i.e. gifts between the living), especially at crucial junctures in the life courses. Examples include during a child's milestone stages, such as going to college, getting married, getting a job, and purchasing a home.<ref name="Edited by" /> The third form of inheritance is the transfers of bulk estates at the time of death of the testators, thus resulting in significant economic advantage accruing to children during their adult years.<ref>(Edited By) Miller, Robert K., McNamee, Stephen L. Inheritance and Wealth in America. p. 4</ref> The origin of the stability of inequalities is material (personal possessions one is able to obtain) and is also cultural, rooted either in varying child-rearing practices that are geared to socialization according to social class and economic position. Child-rearing practices among those who inherit wealth may center around favoring some groups at the expense of others at the bottom of the [[social hierarchy]].<ref>Clignet, Remi. Death, Deeds, and Descendants: Inheritance in Modern America. p. 3</ref>

===Sociological and economic effects of inheritance inequality===
It is further argued that the degree to which economic status and inheritance is transmitted across generations determines one's life chances in society. Although many have linked one's social origins and educational attainment to life chances and opportunities, education cannot serve as the most influential predictor of [[economic mobility]]. In fact, children of well-off parents generally receive better schooling and benefit from material, cultural, and genetic inheritances.<ref>Bowles, Samuel; Gintis, Herbert, "The Inheritance of Inequality." ''[[Journal of Economic Perspectives]]'' Vol. 16, No. 3, 2002, p. 4</ref> Likewise, schooling attainment is often persistent across generations and families with higher amounts of inheritance are able to acquire and transmit higher amounts of [[human capital]]. Lower amounts of human capital and inheritance can perpetuate inequality in the housing market and higher education.  Research reveals that inheritance plays an important role in the accumulation of housing wealth. Those who receive an inheritance are more likely to own a home than those who do not regardless of the size of the inheritance.<ref>Flippen, Chenoa A. "Racial and Ethnic Inequality in Homeownership and Housing Equity." The Sociological Quarterly, Volume 42, No. 2 p. 134</ref>

Often, racial or religious minorities and individuals from socially disadvantaged backgrounds receive less inheritance and wealth.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Strand |first=Palma Joy |date=2010 |title=Inheriting Inequality: Wealth, Race, and the Laws of Succession |url=https://hdl.handle.net/1794/10955 |format=PDF |journal=Oregon Law Review |volume=89 |issue=2 |pages=453-503 |via=University of Oregon Scholars' Bank}}</ref> As a result, mixed races might be excluded in inheritance privilege and are more likely to rent homes or live in poorer neighborhoods, as well as achieve lower educational attainment compared with whites in America.<ref name=":0" />

Nations with the highest [[income inequality|income]] and [[wealth inequalities]] often have the highest rates of homicide and disease (such as obesity, diabetes, and hypertension) which results in high mortality rates.<ref>page 20 of "The Spirit Level"by Wilkinson & Pickett, Bloomsbury Press 2009</ref> A ''[[New York Times]]'' article reveals that the U.S. is the world's wealthiest nation, but "ranks twenty-ninth in life expectancy, right behind Jordan and Bosnia" and "has the second highest mortality rate of the comparable OECD countries".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.healthsystemtracker.org/chart-collection/mortality-rates-u-s-compare-countries/|title=How do mortality rates in the U.S. compare to other countries?}}</ref> This has been regarded as highly attributed to the significant gap of inheritance inequality in the country,<ref>Dubner, Stephen. "How Big of a Deal Is Income Inequality? A Guest Post". The ''New York Times''. August 27, 2008.</ref> although there are clearly other factors such as the affordability of [[healthcare]].

When social and economic inequalities centered on inheritance are perpetuated by major social institutions such as family, education, religion, etc., these differing life opportunities are argued to be transmitted from each generation.  As a result, this inequality is believed to become part of the overall social structure.<ref>Rokicka, Ewa. "Local policy targeted at reducing inheritance of inequalities in European countries." May 2006. [http://www.profit.uni.lodz.pl/pub/dok2/6ca34cbaf07ece58cbd1b4f24371c8c8/PROFIT_dissemination_ER_16th_IC_of%20_IT&FA.pdf Lodz.pl] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081216223207/http://www.profit.uni.lodz.pl/pub/dok2/6ca34cbaf07ece58cbd1b4f24371c8c8/PROFIT_dissemination_ER_16th_IC_of%20_IT%26FA.pdf |date=2008-12-16 }} {{in lang|pl}}</ref>

Women's unequal inheritance rights refer to the disparities and discriminatory practices that women face in inheriting property and assets compared to men. These inequalities stem from a combination of legal, cultural, and religious practices that often prioritize male heirs over female ones, resulting in significant socio-economic consequences for women.

=== Dynastic wealth ===
Dynastic wealth is monetary inheritance that is passed on to generations that did not earn it.<ref>John J. Miller, [https://www.wsj.com/news/articles/SB115223979105400349 "Open the FloodGates"], "The Wall Street Journal", July 7, 2006</ref> Dynastic wealth is linked to the term [[Plutocracy]]. Much has been written about the rise and influence of dynastic wealth including the bestselling book ''[[Capital in the Twenty-First Century]]'' by the French economist [[Thomas Piketty]].<ref>Piketty, Thomas, "Capital in the Twenty-First Century". Harvard University Press, Mar 10, 2014</ref>

[[Bill Gates]] uses the term in his article "Why Inequality Matters".<ref>BILL GATES, [https://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20141015002149-251749025-why-inequality-matters "Why Inequality Matters"], "LinkedIn", 15 October 2014</ref>

=== Soviet response to inheritance ===
As [[Communism]] is founded on the [[Marxism|Marxist]] [[Labor theory of value|Labor Theory of Value]], any money collected in the course of a lifetime is justified if it was based on the fruits of the person's own labor and not from exploiting others. The first communist government installed after the [[Russian Revolution]] resolved to abolish the right of inheritance regardless of being the result of someone's work or exploitation,<ref name=MSU>{{Cite web |date=2015-08-26|title=Abolition of Inheritance |url=http://soviethistory.msu.edu/1917-2/economic-apparatus/economic-apparatus-texts/abolition-of-inheritance/ |access-date=2021-01-06 |website=Seventeen Moments in Soviet History|language=en-US}}</ref> with some exceptions.