The Line of Descent in the Intergenerational Transmission of Domestic Property

Abstract

Although there has been a growing interest over recent years in the intergenerational transmission of Western domestic property, and speci cally housing inheritance, the line of descent in this transmission has been ignored. We do not know whether domestic property goes disproportionately to the next generations(s) of men, or to women, or equally to men and women as the Western cognatic system of descent would dictate. This paper explores the line of descent through an argument proffered by two European sociologists, Delphy and Leonard. They maintain that domestic property goes disproportionately to the next generation(s) of men because of the power of patriarchy. However, neither available information, nor data from an Australian case study, con rms this claim. Indeed, there is a suggestion that domestic property goes roughly equally to the next generations of men and women. The implications of these ndings are explored.

Creating Virtual Families? The Bequeathing Practices of Childless Single and Widowed Testators in 1951 and 2000 in Ireland

“…Eight (23.5 percent) testaments bequeathed to a mix of males and females and eight (23.5 percent) bequeathed to nonkin or the church. These findings are consistent with those of Mullins 33 who found that females (daughters) were more likely to inherit domestic property such as houses. However, in this situation it was sisters (5) and nieces (5) who inherited a whole estate; the other beneficiaries were nephews and brothers.…”

“…In English society Finch et al found that single women are more likely to exercise testamentary freedom by bequeathing their property to their friends. 19 Mullins 20 questioned the claim of French feminists Delphy and Leonard 21 who argued that property goes disproportionately to the next generation of men because of the power of patriarchy. He suggested that they did not provide enough empirical evidence to support this claim and argued that they failed to differentiate between domestic and market property.…”

“…Their data was based on the inheritance experiences of French farming families who passed on the farm to male heirs, but the same might not have been true of nonmarket property such as houses and apartments. He cited evidence from his own research 22 conducted in Brisbane, Australia, which found that in two-thirds of cases of inheritance and gift giving, women were the beneficiaries. Finch and Mason argue that patrimony or the situation where property is held in trust for, or on behalf of, the family as a whole does not exist in English bequeathing practices.…”

“…The analytical framework used for understanding the data is illustrated in the tables below. It combines the analytical distinction between the nature of the estate (commercial/domestic) 28 that is bequeathed with the type of familial relationship in question, e.g. childless single and widowed.…”

Siblings, fairness and parental support for housing in the UK

“…Birth order, age and gender are also considered to be powerful structuring influences on sibling relationships, with siblings' behaviours or those of family members' towards them often interpreted in light of these influences (Edwards et al, 2005). In relation to transfers of wealth, practices based on the principles of primogeniture (the right of inheritance of the firstborn son, informed either by law or custom) provide an extreme case, with more gender-neutral patterns of inheritance emerging in countries such as Australia (Mullins, 2000). Pillimer et al (2012) also highlight the potential influence of gender on inter-family relationships, noting that fathers report lower levels of ambivalence towards daughters, whilst mothers report lower levels towards sons.…”