inheritance Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Of ...

, a hereditary successor is a person who inherits an indivisible title or office after the death of the previous title holder. The hereditary line of succession may be limited to

heirs of the body In English law, heirs of the body is the principle that certain types of property pass to a descendant of the original holder, recipient or grantee according to a fixed order of kinship. Upon the death of the grantee, a designated inheritance suc ...

, or may pass also to collateral lines, in case of extinction of heirs of the body, depending on the succession rules. These concepts are in use in English inheritance law. Main concepts for hereditary succession are usually either ''heir male'' or ''heir general'' – see further

primogeniture Primogeniture ( ) is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn legitimate child to inherit the parent's entire or main estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some children, any illegitimate child or any collateral relativ ...

(agnatic, cognatic, and also equal). "Heir male" is a genealogical term which specifically means "senior male by masculine primogeniture in the legitimate descent of an individual" Certain types of

property Property is a system of rights that gives people legal control of valuable things, and also refers to the valuable things themselves. Depending on the nature of the property, an owner of property may have the right to consume, alter, share, r ...

pass to a descendant or relative of the original holder, recipient or

grantee A grant, in law, is a transfer of property, generally from a person or other entity giving the property (the grantor) to a person or entity receiving the property (the grantee). Historically, a grant was a transfer by deed of that which could not ...

according to a fixed order of

kinship In anthropology, kinship is the web of social relationships that form an important part of the lives of all humans in all societies, although its exact meanings even within this discipline are often debated. Anthropologist Robin Fox says that ...

. Upon the death of the grantee, a designated

such as a

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted noble ranks. Peerages include: Australia * Australian peers Belgium * Be ...

, or a

monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic ( constitutional monar ...

, passes automatically to that living, legitimate, non- adoptive relative of the grantee who is most senior in descent, regardless of the relative age; and thereafter continues to pass to subsequent successors of the grantee, according to the same formula, upon the death of each subsequent heir. Each person who inherits according to this formula is considered an heir at law of the grantee and the inheritance may not pass to someone who is not a natural, lawful descendant or relative of the grantee. Collateral kin, who share some or all of the grantee's ancestry, but do not directly descend from the grantee, may inherit if there is no limitation to heirs of the body. There are other kinds of formulae for inheritance, if the heritage can be divided: heirs portioners and

partible inheritance Partible inheritance is a system of inheritance in which property is apportioned among heirs. It contrasts in particular with primogeniture, which was common in feudal society and requires that the whole or most of the inheritance passes to the el ...

. There are also other types of

order of succession An order of succession or right of succession is the line of individuals necessitated to hold a high office when it becomes vacated such as head of state or an honour such as a title of nobility.Line of succession to the Belgian throne There are sixteen people in the line of succession to the Belgian throne. The monarch is considered to have acceded to the throne upon her/his taking of the oath as required by article 91 of the constitution. Eligibility Since 1991, Belgium p ...

Succession to the British throne Succession to the British throne is determined by descent, gender, legitimacy and religion. Under common law, the Crown is inherited by a sovereign's children or by a childless sovereign's nearest collateral line. The Bill of Rights 1689 a ...

* Line of succession to the Danish throne *

Line of succession to the Dutch throne Since 1983, the crown of the Netherlands passes according to absolute primogeniture. From 1814 until 1887, a monarch could only be succeeded by their closest female relative if there were no eligible male relatives. Male-preference cognatic pri ...

* Line of succession to the Luxembourger throne * Line of succession to the Norwegian throne * Succession to the Saudi Arabian throne * Line of succession to the Spanish throne * Line of succession to the Swedish throne

References

{{reflist Inheritance Legal terminology Hereditary monarchy

See also

References