A comparative study of the development of inheritance law in the United States, France, and Germany, this work investigates longstanding political and intellectual debates over inheritance laws and explains why these laws differ so greatly among these countries.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS vii Chapter 1: Introduction 1 1.1 Inheritance and Modern Society 1 1.2 Social Dimensions of Inheritance Law 12 Chapter 2: The Right to Bequeath: Testamentary Freedom and the Individuality of Property 21 2.1 France: Equality versus the Freedom of Private Disposition over Property 23 2.2 Germany: Testamentary Freedom versus Family and Social Justice 50 2.3 United States: Equality of Opportunity versus Individual Rights of Disposition 69 2.4 Conclusion 80 Chapter 3: Equality and Inclusion: The Inheritance Rights of the Family 83 3.1 The Principle of Equality in Intestacy Law 87 3.2 The Spouse in Intestacy Law 90 3.3 The Integration of Illegitimate Children into Inheritance Law 99 3.4 Conclusion 109 Chapter 4: Political Structure and Inheritance Law: The Abolition of Entails 114 4.1 The Double Abolition of Substitutions in France 119 4.2 The Delayed Abolition of Fideikommisse in Germany 131 4.3 The Abolition of Entails in the American Revolution 156 4.4 Conclusion 163 Chapter 5: Social Justice through Redistribution? The Taxation of Inheritance 167 5.1 Equality of Opportunity versus Private Property: The Estate Tax in the United States 171 5.2 "Sense of Family" versus Social Justice: The Inheritance Tax in Germany 209 5.3 Destruction of National Wealth? The Progressive Inheritance Tax in France 243 5.4 Conclusion 270 Chapter 6: Conclusion: Discourses and Institutions 275 APPENDIX: THE METHOD OF CONTENT ANALYSIS OF PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 295 NOTES 299 REFERENCES 343 INDEX 367

"Sociologist Beckert provides a thoughtful overview and analysis of the development of inheritance law in the US, Germany, and France, focusing on the period from the 1700s to the present... Beckert successfully argues that the three countries' trajectories have reflected important cultural, political, and economic differences, and he rejects earlier arguments that the process has been driven by increased individualization. Because the book is balanced and knowledgeably covers an immense amount of ground, the reader quickly comes to respect Beckert's arguments and insights."--R. M. Whaples, Wake Forest University, for Choice "Breathtaking in its detail and logic, Beckert's analysis is constructed with the precision of an economist building a model."--Livio Di Matteo, Canadian Journal of Sociology "Inherited Wealth is foremost an enjoyable and erudite invitation to an extremely interesting yet understudied research area. Beckert successfully captures the reader's interest in the empirical relations and normative issues addressed in his book."--Andrea Pozas-Loyo, Law and Politics Book Review "Translated into English and aimed at an academic audience, this volume draws on a wealth of French and German sources not readily accessible to Anglophone scholars and offers an unusually comprehensive comparative analysis."--Anne Alstott, Socio-Economic Review "Jens Beckert has produced a fascinating and admirable work... Beckert offers a number of interesting ideas. He goes over the important debates and the writers on inheritance law and thus contributes to intellectual history... He has a methodology for exploring debates, content analysis, that is worthy of attention because it can be obviously used in a vast number of American studies of ideology--indeed, a formulation that I think is particularly apropos to the Civil War era... The interpretations are sound, the use of theory wise, the methodology instructive, and the information provocative. For individuals in legal history, political history, and transatlantic studies, this book comes with the highest recommendation."--James Huston, Journal of Social History

"This excellent book is the first major comparative exploration of inheritance law as it pertains to the social sciences that I know of. Marked throughout by the author's erudition on the subject, its analysis is framed in sociological terms, but the main chapters can be read without any knowledge of sociology. Indeed, they contain much that will prove extremely useful for historians, political scientists, economists, and others, and which is hard to find elsewhere."—Richard Swedberg, Cornell University"Inherited Wealth is a fine piece of scholarship, worth reading from beginning to end. We learn much in this book. First and foremost, we learn the guiding principles of inheritance law in three very influential countries. In a highly readable manner, Jens Beckert presents a very complex topic that has, until now, been accessible only to legal scholars."—Juan Díez Medrano, Universidad de Barcelona and Institut Barcelona d'Estudis Internacionals (IBEI)

This excellent book is the first major comparative exploration of inheritance law as it pertains to the social sciences that I know of. Marked throughout by the author's erudition on the subject, its analysis is framed in sociological terms, but the main chapters can be read without any knowledge of sociology. Indeed, they contain much that will prove extremely useful for historians, political scientists, economists, and others, and which is hard to find elsewhere. -- Richard Swedberg, Cornell University Inherited Wealth is a fine piece of scholarship, worth reading from beginning to end. We learn much in this book. First and foremost, we learn the guiding principles of inheritance law in three very influential countries. In a highly readable manner, Jens Beckert presents a very complex topic that has, until now, been accessible only to legal scholars. -- Juan Diez Medrano, Universidad de Barcelona and Institut Barcelona d'Estudis Internacionals (IBEI)