III.   Rights

An Heir is a Beneficiary recognized by the higher estate to possess a prior right to a lesser estate, unless excluded by Will.

In determining a rightful Heir, it is tradition for the Executors and Administrators of higher estates to follow the relevant cultural principles of “inheritance”.

The concept of Heir is equivalent to the concept of Title of Nobility. An Heir is always a Person with beneficial entitlement to an estate also holding right of use of one or more honorifics denoting the size of the estate and therefore the standing of the Heir. Thus a Sovereign traditionally denotes the holding of the largest kind of estate, while titles of nobility such as Earl, Baron, Lord indicate successively smaller estates within the estate of the Sovereign.

Where a higher estate permits Heirs, the general principle of inheritance means that the property, titles, debts and obligations of a lesser estate may be passed to the eldest next of kin upon the death of the decedent, excluding the existence of a will. This is usually called the Line of Succession and is of particular importance in those higher estates still permitting a Sovereign Heir.

Where a higher estate does not permit Heirs and therefore Title of Nobility, the absence of a Will does not mean that the lesser estate is automatically inherited by next of kin but that the higher estate may reclaim all rights under “intestate” and determine what rights shall be awarded to any next of kin, if any. Estates such as the United States expressly forbids title of nobility and therefore heirs within their deed and will.

As an estate belongs to a Testamentary Trust under Trust Law, an Heir can never also be an Executor or Administrator of the Estate for which they are also a Beneficiary.

The entitlements of property or rank of an Heir is determined by two primary factors: the first being the limits of property within the estate and secondly the conditions and limits of the wills of higher estates to which the lesser estate belongs.

A Will can never name an Heir, only Beneficiaries. In a higher estate that permits the existence of Heirs, the existence of a Will implies the disenfranchisement of one or more rights to an Heir.

The Heirs are words describing the extent or quality of the estate conveyed and not words designating the persons who are taking it.

When a person takes as heir at law they do so by descent, but when he acquires title by his own act of agreement he is a purchaser.

An Heir always remains a Beneficiary with any rights of property limited by the Executors and Administrators of the higher estate.

A Person who murders another to obtain the status of Heir is automatically rendered ineligible to succeed, regardless of any clause, term or caveat in any will or statute to the contrary.