Curtailing Inherited Wealth

Paper Summary:

This paper analyzes the argument regarding inherited wealth in the United States. It discusses the viewpoint that the existing legal framework used for transferring wealth to subsequent generations are being exploited by the wealthy and have contributed to an increasing gap between rich and poor. It then discusses the opinion that people cannot be reasonably be expected to take entrepreneurial risks and make personal sacrifices without the knowledge that their efforts will benefit their families after they are gone.

Table of Contents:
Review and Discussion
Background and Overview
Inherited Wealth in the United States Today
Critique of Pros and Cons of Ascher's Inheritance Rationale
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"In the final analysis, the advocates of the position advanced by Ascher are ignoring the economic and social realities of life in a capitalist society that places much value on material wealth and the traditionally inviolable nature of property rights and how these are used to enrich future heirs who will likely be unknown to the decedents. Nevertheless, without such assurances, it would be unreasonable to expect people to take the risks that are necessary in open market economies to fuel the future growth that will be necessary to support these generations anyway. Indeed, the proponents of abolishing existing inheritance laws ignore the foregoing realities of how and why people strive to succeed, but they also ignore how their proposed alternatives would not fix the problems that are designed to address in the first place. For example, a number of unforeseen and unforeseeable methods will undoubtedly be used by the affluent in any system to ensure that what they have accumulated in life will remain in their families after they are gone."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Ascher, Mark L. 1990. "Curtailing Inherited Wealth." Michigan Law Review 89(1):69.
• Black's Law Dictionary. St. Paul, MN: West Publishing Co., 1990.
• Hooker, Brad. Rationality, Rules, and Utility: New Essays on the Moral Philosophy of Richard B. Brandt. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1994.
• Rheinstein, Max and Mary Ann Glendon. "inheritance." Encyclopaedia Britannica. 2006. Encyclopaedia Britannica Premium Service. 5 May 2006 <http://www.britannica.com/eb/ article-13136>.
• Schanzenbach, Max M. and Robert H. Sitkoff. 2005. "Jurisdictional Competition for Trust Funds: An Empirical Analysis of Perpetuities and Taxes." Yale Law Journal 115(2):356.

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