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Enduring Love? Attitudes to Family and Inheritance Law in England and Wales
Author(s) -
Douglas Gillian,
Woodward Hilary,
Humphrey Alun,
Mills Lisa,
Morrell Gareth
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
journal of law and society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.263
H-Index - 48
eISSN - 1467-6478
pISSN - 0263-323X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-6478.2011.00542.x
Subject(s) - cohabitation , inheritance (genetic algorithm) , dependency (uml) , law , sociology , nuclear family , political science , genealogy , history , systems engineering , gene , engineering , biochemistry , chemistry
This paper reports on the findings from a large‐scale study of public attitudes to inheritance law, particularly the rules on intestacy. It argues that far from the assumption that the family' is in terminal decline, people in England and Wales still view their most important relationships, at least for the purposes of inheritance law, as centred on a narrow, nuclear family model. However, there is also widespread acceptance of re‐partnering and cohabitation, producing generally high levels of support for including cohabitants in the intestacy rules and for ensuring that children from former relationships are protected. We argue that these views are underpinned by a continuing sense of responsibility to the members of one's nuclear family, arising from notions of sharing and commitment, dependency and support, and a sense of lineage.