Partible inheritance

Partible inheritance, sometimes also called partitive, is a system of <a href="/facts/Inheritance/6NR9DBBP">inheritance</a> in which property is apportioned among <a href="/facts/Heir/6NR9DBBP">heirs</a>. It contrasts in particular with <a href="/facts/Primogeniture/taMEFK8d">primogeniture</a>, which was common in <a href="/facts/Feudal/WCK7l9gA">feudal</a> society and requires that the whole or most of the inheritance passes to the eldest son, and with <a href="/facts/Agnatic_seniority/qt0qVR5S">agnatic seniority</a>, which requires the succession to pass to next senior male.
Partible inheritance systems are common ones to be found in legal systems based on both <a href="/facts/Common_law/vGVcW4Kf">common law</a> and the <a href="/facts/Napoleonic_Code/We19lW8F">Napoleonic Code</a>. In the latter case, there may be a further requirement implying division according to a scheme, such as equal shares for legitimate children.
Partible inheritance has been common in ancient <a href="/facts/Celts/eMCVYAFz">Celtic</a> and <a href="/facts/Germanic_peoples/N16QoPA7">Germanic</a> tribal societies, an example of the latter pattern is the so-called <a href="/facts/Salic_patrimony/IHWcf6Rp">Salic patrimony</a>.
Historically speaking, non-partible inheritance has been associated with <a href="/facts/Monarchies/Kg1vY7tt">monarchies</a> and the wish for landed <a href="/facts/Estate_(house)/kdns4YfJ">estates</a> to be kept together as units. In the <a href="/facts/Middle_Ages/RqzEKB9v">Middle Ages</a>, the partible inheritance systems, for example of the <a href="/facts/Merovingian_dynasty/mz0Sv722">Merovingian dynasty</a>, the <a href="/facts/Carolingian_Empire/kyp74kXx">Carolingian Empire</a>, and the <a href="/facts/Kievan_Rus/oYbNWrwR">Kievan Rus</a>, had the effect of dividing kingdoms into princely states, and are often thought to be responsible for their gradual decline in power.
Partible inheritance was the generally-accepted form of inheritance adopted in <a href="/facts/New_England/ufw2BmSl">New England</a> in the 18th century. The southern colonies adopted a system of <a href="/facts/Male_primogeniture/taMEFK8d">male primogeniture</a> in cases of <a href="/facts/Intestacy/64jhP7gD">intestacy</a>, and the northern colonies adopted a system of partible inheritance in cases of intestacy, with the eldest son receiving a double portion of the estate. In practice, a strong <a href="/facts/Bequest/rkaN8Sxu">bequest</a> motive in the colonies adopting multigeniture reduced the variability in demographic experiences across colonies with different inheritance systems.

Partible inheritance open-in-new

Partible inheritance