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Inheritance
This a benefit, as well as an Opt In article.
Contents |
Definition
Oh to be the eldest son! As a rule the eldest legitimate male inherits everything, including debts. In particular, he gets the title if there is one. This benefit means your father (or another relative granting you inheritance) has died and you've come into your title and wealth. Widows do not inherit, but instead have their freedom.
The will takes into account provision for any daughter's dowry, which the heir is bound to honour. The heir also takes responsibility for underaged siblings, including any acknowledged illegitimate ones, as well as other financial dependants such as grandparents, widows etc. All of this is likely detailed in the will but if it isn't any dependants not provided for might turn to the courts. The reason for the state to interfere is that otherwise the cost of the resulting poor will press upon the community.
That is not to say that a heir might always wish to honour these responsibilities. He might skim on dowries, or send dependants to relatives to care for. It might raise some eyebrows in polite society though.
Inheritance as Benefit
You are the heir to your parents fortune, estate and title? That in itself we have not marked as a benefit, though it is when you are an only child or a co-heiress with no male siblings. With an inheritance you have come into your position in life. It can be an explanation for your Wealth Level. We remark that widow is a social position; though they do not inherit, this is one of the few ways in which a lady may gain control of her own fortune & fate.
Claiming your inheritance is above all a storytelling tool in your background. To gain actual wealth above the average level you need to select a Wealth benefit or a Lump Sum to invest, or Rank to have a peerage title above Viscount. Inheritance is discontinued as a benefit.
Heiress
If the only surviving child is a girl there is a heiress. If there is more than one girl then they share equal in the inheritance. The title might be granted to the husband of the eldest if there are no other claimants to the title (such as cousins or even far cousins) through the King or the House of Lords. This will be a new creation though.
Bastard
A bastard; an illegitimate child; a natural child. It all indicates a child born out of wedlock. Children born out of wedlock do not have a right to the inheritance of their father, unless he has made a provision for them in the will. In England (unlike on the continent) children born out of wedlock can never be "recognized" by their father and thus become legitimate.
A child born of a marriage that is later annulled (for instance on the basis of consanguinity) will still be considered legitimate.
All children born in wedlock, regardless of their biological father, will be given the name of the man their mother is married to at the time, unless a previous claim exists through previous wedding, with the lady turned widow. Up to nine months after a husband's death a wife can still conceive a child within that wedlock!
A man that suspects his wife, or his intended, has been unfaithful can disown a child, making it illegitimate.
