Inheritance law

Inheritance law differs from country to country.

Successors
In Erenford the order of succession is defined as such:
 * 1) Spouse and children; children concur equally to the succession regardless of age, gender or whether they are legitimate or not, with the exception of titles, which are granted to the oldest child. In the absence of either a living spouse or children, either only the spouse or only the children inherit.
 * 2) Grandchildren: grandchildren inherit if there aren't living children, alongside with the spouse, if there is one.
 * 3) Parents; if there is no spouse and no children but the deceased has living parents, they inherit their property.
 * 4) Siblings;
 * 5) Nephews and nieces;
 * 6) Spouse - the spouse may inherit a title if no other successors exist.
 * 7) The Crown.

Titles
In Erenford, the oldest child of any gender inherits a parent's title. Titles are cummulative, unless otherwise determined. The oldest child also inherits the property that is inalienably associated with the title, usually the family estate. Illegitimate children may inherit equally to legitimate children.

If there aren't any living children, the title is deferred to the oldest grandchild; in the absence of grandchildren, the next oldest sibling inherits the title and if there aren't any living siblings, the oldest nephew or niece will inherit the title. Only if there aren't any of these people living, the spouse, if there is one, may inherit the title. From then on, the title passes to the family of the spouse and is inherited by his or her successors.

Despite this, titles can be deferred to a younger child or another successor should the successor be disowned or destituted with attendable reason by a court order. Disowning a successor effectively removes them from the line of succession - and the family - and they no longer stand to inherit either title or property. Destitution, however, only prevents the successor from inheriting the title, with it being deferred to the next person in the line - the destitute party still inherits property as a regular successor.

In the eventuality that there are no successors to the title, the title and the lands associated with it, as well as the rest of the estate that hasn't been granted to third parties in a will, shall defer to the Crown. The Crown may extinguish a title and create a new one to go with the property, to be bestowed on whom the Crown sees fit, or may appoint a new holder of the same title.

Titles cannot be granted in a will to third parties.

Property
In the eventuality of a person dying without a will, leaving a living spouse and children, the spouse and children each get half of the deceased's estate, with the children's parcel being equally divided amongst them. If there are no children, the spouse is the sole heir, and if there is no living spouse, the children shall divide the deceased's estate between themselves.

In the absence of a spouse and children, each one of the classes of successors shall equally divide the deceased's estate between themselves, in order. If there are no successors, the Crown shall inherit the estate and give it the purpose it sees fit.

Once again, illegitimate family members stand to inherit in the same footing as legitimate family members.

If the deceased has left a will, he or she may dispose freely of half of his or her estate, with the other half following the normal rules of succession. Successors which have been contemplated in the normal rules of succession may stand to inherit a particular asset or a bonus benefit through this way. The successors may, however, sue for the invalidity of the will based on the beneficiary's indignity.

Successory status of common law spouses
See also: Concubinage#Denvorn

Unlike what happens with companions in Denvorn, common law marriages are not recognized by law and despite the fact that children born out of wedlock have an equal status to their legitimate siblings, common law spouses are not given and prerogatives in their partner's estate. While they may be granted property via a will, should the deceased have been married in live and should the spouse survive him or her, the spouse may sue for invalidity of the will based on concubinage.

However, common law spouses who have underage children are granted curator powers over the child's inheritance, and are permitted to draw a monthly allowance from the child's estate in order to provide for them.

Inheritance law in Carteret
Inheritance law in Carteret is simplified. As private property is relative, as the Lord Chieftain is considered to be the owner of all the land, renting it out to land keepers, whenever a person dies their successors, be their children, spouse, siblings or other relatives, must file a request with the Silent City to inherit their deceased relative's 'lease'. The Silent City officials then judge who is the most fit to inherit, although in either case the spouse is allowed to remain at the family's home and to draw a survival allowance from the deceased's estate. As wealth is rare in Carteret, seldom conflicts of inheritance arise, as people are more wont to leave behind debts than property.

Children, spouses, grandchildren, parents, siblings, nephews and nieces, unmarried partners, concubines, friends and employers are all suitable to request to inherit someone's lease.

As for the deceased's personal effects and money, it's distributed equally by the members of the family, regardless of status. The Silent City may intervene shall a conflict arise, although this is rare.

Royal titles
Royal titles, however, follow a stricter set of rules. According to custom, the ruler of Carteret is the person who embodies the Spirit of the Forest, being that the Spirit of the Forest runs in the family line of Locke of Carteret. It is assumed that the Spirit manifests itself always on the first trueborn child, therefore, the heir to the throne is always the oldest legitimate child of the Lord or Lady Chieftain; in the absence of a child, a grandchild is the next in line, and in the absence of a child, a sibling and then a nephew or a niece. As such, all successors must be either trueborn or legitimized by the Lord Chieftain by Royal Decree.

However, it has happened in the past that the Spirit has manifested in other successors who are not first in line for the succession, in which case the title shall be granted to that person identified by both the Lord Chieftain and the Eye of the Forest.

In case of a legitimized child inheriting the title, the parent of that child is entitled to declare him or herself King or Queen Mother, effectively nullifying any marriages that may have been celebrated between the deceased Lord Chieftain and their consort and relegating their children to the status of illegitimate children, to be legitimized by the now Lord Chieftain. As such, legitimizing a heir to the throne is often seen as a last resort measure.