Family Dynamics are Complicated, Particularly When We’re Talking End-of-Life “Wealth” Transfers

GW Law Professor Naomi Cahn and Amy Zeittlow, affiliate scholar with the Institute of American Values, have collaborated on a new article that is fascinating.  In “Making Things Fair: An Empirical Study of How People Approach the Wealth Transmission System,” to be published in a forthcoming issue of the Elder Law Journal, they ask fundamental questions about whether traditional laws governing testate and intestate wealth transmission reflect and serve the wishes of most Americans.  Professor Cahn previews the article as follows:

Based on an empirical study of intergenerational care for Baby Boomers, the article shows how the inheritance process actually works for many Americans.  Two fundamental questions about the wealth transfer system guided our analysis  of the data: 1) does the contemporary inheritance process respond to the changing structure of American families; and 2) does it reflect the needs of the non-elite, who have not traditionally been the focus of the system?    

Our study shows that the formal laws of the inheritance system are largely irrelevant to how property is  transferred at death. While the contemporary trusts and estates canon focuses on the importance of planning for  traditional forms of wealth in nuclear families, this study focuses on the transmission of wealth that has high emotional, but low financial, value. We illustrate how the logic of “making things fair” structured how families navigated the distribution process and accessed the law. Consequently, the article recommends that law reform should be guided by the needs of contemporary  families, where not only is wealth defined broadly but also family is defined broadly, through ties that are both formal and functional.  This means establishing default rules that maximize planning while also protecting familial relationships.

The article is part of a new book by the authors titled “Homeward Bound,” with planned publication in 2016, and the authors welcome comments and suggestions.