The History of estate planning

In the dawning years of culture, the right to own property was only held by a collective group, tribe or family.  With the death of a leader (i.e. a chief or king), property would be distributed according to the customs or laws of that particular culture. We have a very similar system still taking shape within New Zealand today, where if someone dies without a Will, their property would be divided according to our intestacy laws.

A long time ago (6^th century AD) under the ‘Justinian Code’ in ancient Rome, written and verbal Wills were recognized as legally binding, but they had to be approved by a public official. In Anglo-Saxon England (5^th – 11^th Century AD) having land was considered having power, which meant if you wanted to sell or purchase land it had to be approved by royalty first.  In the 12th century, passing everything to your first born son (primogeniture) was practiced to make sure family property stayed within the bloodline.  Then finally in 1540 in England, the Statute of Wills was born, which allowed landowners to pass on their land however they wanted.

But, when did ‘probate’ or having an 'executor’ come into the equation? Well, dating back to medieval times, probate (which is the judicial process where a Will is "proved" valid in court as someone’s last wishes) made it compulsory for there to be an assigned executor (the person responsible for administering your Will). Lawyers who were the ‘go to’ people at the time often filled this role, charging fees that would come from the deceased’s estate - and Voilá! We have the same basic process the industry follows today!

All throughout estate planning’s long history, women have not been on the receiving side of wealth at all. Customarily, women were usually disinherited from any assets left behind, or some formula was used to distribute assets amongst all male heirs instead.  In some cases, assets would pass to a trust, but would cease to exist if a woman married into another family.  Nowadays, women and men have equal treatment to inherit property - success!

As it was hundreds of years ago, estate planning remains one of the most important ways to manage and protect your assets for future generations. What has changed however is our societies. What you’re witnessing through Footprint is the newest evolution of estate planning – the only subscription model of its kind!