Heirs of the body

Heirs of the body

Heirs of the body is the term for the English legal principle that certain types of property pass to a descendant of the grantee according to a fixed order of kinship. Upon the death of the grantee, a designated inheritance such as a parcel of land, a peerage, or a monarchy, passes automatically to that living, legitimate, natural descendant of the grantee who is most senior in descent according to agnatic primogeniture, males being preferred, however, over their sisters regardless of relative age; and thereafter the property continues to pass to subsequent descendants of the grantee, according to the same formula, upon the death of each subsequent heir.

Baronies created by writ of summons to Parliament usually descend to heirs of the body of the grantee, and may thus be inherited by females. The Crown of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland descends to heirs of the body of the Electress Sophia of Hanover since 1701.

Each person who inherits according to this formula is considered an heir at law of the grantee. Since the inheritance may not pass to someone who is not a natural, lawful descendant of the grantee, the heir is necessarily also "of the body" of the grantee. Collateral kin, who share some or all of the grantee's ancestry, but do not directly descend from the grantee, may not inherit. When there are no more heirs of the body, the terms of the original grant are expired, and the property becomes extinct (e.g. peerage), or some other criterion for allocating the property to a new possessor must be applied. If the original grant stipulated an alternative formula for succession upon exhaustion of heirs, that formula is immediately applicable. Thus, if a peerage is granted to "heirs of the body of John X, failing which, to heirs general", then

Thus property settled upon someone and the heirs of their body - whether male, female, or generally - will pass to children, grandchildren and so on, but not to nephews of the grantee, his or her sisters, uncles and their descendants. Nor will a limitation in a grant to someone's "heirs" carry the property to collateral heirs in England, since the law presumes that "heirs of the body" are meant though a grant to the grantee and his heirs male will.

There are other kinds of formulae for inheritance than heirs of the body, such as heirs male, heirs of the line, heirs portioners, heirs general, etc.

ee also

* [http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/heirs+of+the+body Legal Dictionary]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • heirs of the body — Descendants of one s bloodline, such as children or grandchildren, until such time as there are no direct descendants. If the bloodline runs out, the property will revert to the nearest relative traced back to the original owner. Category: Wills …   Law dictionary

  • without living heirs of the body — A phrase in a will employed to import a definite failure of issue. Glover v Condell, 163 111 566, 45 NE 173. See heirs of the body …   Ballentine's law dictionary

  • heirs of the body — Ordinarily considered to be a technical legal term, or word of art, constituting Words of limitation, not of purchase. 28 Am J2d Est § 119 …   Ballentine's law dictionary

  • heir of the body — noun (plural heirs of the body) : a lineal heir especially as contrasted with a collateral heir …   Useful english dictionary

  • Heirs of the Force — Infobox SW Books name = Heirs of the Force orig title = translator = author = Kevin J. Anderson Rebecca Moesta cover artist = Dave Dorman editor = country = USA language = English era = New Republic series = Young Jedi Knights galactic year = 23… …   Wikipedia

  • heirs of her body begotten — A technical term but sometimes construed as words of purchase. 28 Am J2d Est § 118. Technical words used in creating an estate in fee tail, being construed as words of limitation except as the entire context discloses an intention of the testator …   Ballentine's law dictionary

  • The General series — The General (also known as the Raj Whitehall series, after the lead character) is a set of military science fiction books written by S.M. Stirling from an outline by David Drake. Clearly inspired by the Byzantine commander Belisarius, the series… …   Wikipedia

  • The Foundations of the Nineteenth Century — (Die Grundlagen des neunzehnten Jahrhunderts, 1899) was the best selling work by Houston Stewart Chamberlain. In it he advances various racist and especially völkisch antisemitic theories on how he saw the Aryan race as superior to others, and… …   Wikipedia

  • The Hermitage (Hamilton, Ontario) — The Hermitage was a large residence situated in Ancaster, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada which now exists as ruins and is part of The Hermitage and Gatehouse Museum maintained by the Hamilton Conservation Authority. The location is a popular… …   Wikipedia

  • The Cat and the Canary (1979 film) — Infobox Film | name = The Cat and the Canary caption = DVD cover director = Radley Metzger producer = Richard Gordon writer = John Willard (play) Radley Metzger (adaptation) starring =Honor Blackman Michael Callan Edward Fox Wendy Hiller Olivia… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”