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Thu 2 Sep, 2021 11:31 am
Hi, I have several 17th century UK wills. In them the sons inherit the estate and the wife receives sums of money, possibly her dower right.
In 2 instances, the sons are under aged and cannot take possession of the estates until they are 21. In one of these instances the son is only 3 years old when the father dies so effectively the wife has to wait 18 years before she gets her dower right.
In both instances the sons have to pay their mothers their dower right when they come into their inheritances. So it appears that the mothers get temporary ownership of the estates until their sons turn 21.
So I have three questions.
Is there a legal term for this temporary ownership of the estate, is it a trust or something?
Is the dower right an inheritance or a debt on the estate?
If it is a debt, and the son fails to make the payment, can the mother claim part of the estate as hers?
Cheers
Karen
@Karen58,
The history of the United Kingdom only started in the early eighteenth century - so your wills might/will have a different legal background, depending on the place where the will was drawn up.
But a google search will show up with several sources re "Inheritance in the British Isles in the 17th Century", perhaps answering your questions.
@Mame,
Mame wrote:What? Of course the history of the UK didn't start in the 18th century. Or are you talking about wills?
No, I meant the history of the UK: it started with the with the Treaty of Union and the Acts of Union - the unified state came into being in 1707.
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