For over two thousand years, our Roman based legal system has accepted that after the payment of taxes and duties to the state, a person had the sole right to determine how the balance of their estate was disposed of after their death. Known as the “freedom of testamentary disposition” – the right to put your money where you like – it has been presumed as a safeguard against avaricious relatives by many Britons.
After all, this position had been challenged countless times over the centuries in England, but had always been upheld in principal, with the odd tweak in favour of wives claims. In Scotland, there had always been some grounds for challenging a will if you were a surviving dependent. This is because we have slightly different legal systems, an inheritance from the Acts of Union with England in !707, and of course with Scotland heading for divorce from England inside the the next few years, they will no doubt diverge a lot more in the future.
After all, this position had been challenged countless times over the centuries in England, but had always been upheld in principal, with the odd tweak in favour of wives claims. In Scotland, there had always been some grounds for challenging a will if you were a surviving dependent. This is because we have slightly different legal systems, an inheritance from the Acts of Union with England in !707, and of course with Scotland heading for divorce from England inside the the next few years, they will no doubt diverge a lot more in the future.
 |
| Last Will Is Not Last Word Any More .... |
