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Dead hands

Lawrence M. Friedman

2009230 pagesabout 4–5 hours
2009
first published
  • 2009Stanford University Press · 230 pages · ENGISBN 9780804760362

Law and custom allow people many ways to pass on their property. As Friedman's enlightening social history reveals, a decline in formal rules, the ascendancy of will substitutes over classic wills, social changes like the rise of the family of affection, changing ideas of acceptable heirs, and the potential disappearance of the estate tax all play a large role in the balance of wealth. Dead Hands uncovers the tremendous social and legal importance of this rite of passage, and how it reflects changing values and priorities in American families and society. --from publisher description.

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