Inheritance can concern property, debts, obligations and titles from one individual to another upon the death of one of the individuals.

It has played an important role in many human societies.

See also

• Types of Succession
• Historical Mixed Inheritance
• Effects of Succession

Some cultures employ a matrilineal inheritance where only females are given the possessions.

Other cultures include primogeniture, in which the eldest child, or the eldest son gets all of the inheritance.

In ultimogeniture, all the worldly possessions go to the youngest child.

Some ancient groups as well as most modern cultures make use of partible inheritance, in which every child generally inherits equally. There were other mixed systems in ancient societies.

Among the Galician people, it was normal that all children, both men and women, took a part of the inheritance; however, one son usually inherited the house and a third of all of the remaining inheritance. The one son was called the mellorado and in some villages, the mellorado even received two-thirds of all of the inheritance and the two thirds would often involve all of the family lands.

According to Islamic inheritance law, the sons inherit twice as much as the daughters when no will is left behind. Wills are recommended as the complete Islamic laws are very complicated. One exception is the Indonesian Minangkabau people from Sumatra, which are Muslims and enjoy only a complete matrilineal succession with property and land passing down from mothers only to daughters.

With partible inheritance, large estates are slowly divided among many descendents, diluting out the wealth and giving better opportunities to make a success of themselves.