Grebieniow, Aleksander
Estate Planning by Agreement in the Sources of Roman Law

This study presents Roman legal sources from the perspective of the broad concept of estate planning. The focus is on the presentation of those instruments for the voluntary transfer of assets in the event of death that are not wills or codicils. Contrary to popular belief, Roman law was not fundamentally opposed to the transfer of property mortis causa using contractual remedies. A look from the perspective of contemporary legal problems makes it possible to see the scope within which the Romans carried out such intergenerational transfers of wealth. The extent of this already ancient phenomenon and the diversity of dogmatic questions offers a notable starting point for discussions about the strength of today’s inheritance law dogmas. - The book encompasses various legal phenomena pertaining to wealth transfer mortis causa in the world of Roman law. It demonstrates that succession in property rights could be realised by agreements of various kinds, which - though not building a coherent legal concept and being much different from the modern understanding of contractual succession - served as will-substitutes, i.e. functional equivalents to the Roman testament. The study goes back to the ancient sources in order to select and examine any testimonies of agreements aimed at regulating patrimonial relationships after death: agreements having immediate effect between the living, those enforceable only at the death of the deceased, and finally, settlements altering the order of succession mortis causa long after his passing away. It uncovers a series of societal patterns of behaviour staying behind legal institutions. The extent of the already ancient phenomenon of estate planning by agreement and the diversity of the dogmatic issues involved provides a notable starting point for discussions on the contemporary inheritance law dogmas. XX,459 Seiten, gebunden (Warschauer Schriften zum römischen Recht und zur europäischen Rechtstradition; Vol. 2/Brill | Schöningh 2025) leichte Lagerspuren/unused, minor shelfwear