Category Archives: Inheritance

The Duke Is Dead, Long Live the Duke . . . Now What?

Posted on May 17, 2023 by Regina Jeffers

During the Georgian era, a will could be declared void it the person was insane or drunk at the time of its creation or be voided if it was proven to have been written for a convicted felon, a prisoner, or an outlaw/thief. So it was also for those who committed suicide or had been excommunicated from the church or if the person was a slave. A married woman required the consent of her husband to have a will drawn up. Worst so, the husband had the right to withdraw his permission up until the will was probated. Because the legal age to marry during the time was 14 for boys and 12 for girls, such was the same ages for wills. Continue reading →

Posted in Act of Parliament, aristocracy, British history, estates, family, Georgian England, Georgian Era, history, Inheritance, laws of the land, legacy, Living in the Regency, Living in the UK, real life tales, Regency era, titles of aristocracy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Could Longbourn Be Lost to Mortgage Debt? + the Release of “Amending the Shades of Pemberley” + a Giveaway

Posted on April 26, 2023 by Regina Jeffers

Only registered debts like mortgages and those on which the stamps and fees had been paid were legally enforceable. The law of the time said an heir was only liable for debts to the sum of the assets he inherited. Most mortgages could be continued, just by paying the interest. Continue reading →

Posted in aristocracy, book excerpts, book release, British history, eBooks, estates, finance, Georgian England, Georgian Era, giveaway, historical fiction, history, Inheritance, Jane Austen, laws of the land, Living in the Regency, Pride and Prejudice, primogenture, publishing, reading habits, real life tales, Regency era, Regency romance, research, Vagary, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Lease and Release as a Plot Point in “Where There’s a FitzWILLiam Darcy, There’s a Way”

Posted on March 27, 2023 by Regina Jeffers

For Lease and Release to work, two agreements were required. First, a bargain (sale) contract was executed by the seller to convey a lease on the land… (Unlike an outright sale, short leases did not require enrollment in a public registry.) The seller then separately executed a release to grant to the buyer (who was now his tenant) the seller’s remaining interest. [This transfers] title to the buyer, since he now owned both the current and future interests in the land. [“A Bit of Deed History,” Bob’s Genealogy Filing Cabinet]  Continue reading →

Posted in book excerpts, book release, British history, estates, family, Georgian Era, historical fiction, Inheritance, Jane Austen, Living in the Regency, Pride and Prejudice, Vagary, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

Peerages: Those Which Can Be Inherited and Those Which Cannot

Posted on March 6, 2023 by Regina Jeffers

A hereditary peerage, generally passages from father to son, or to another. Those peerages which cannot be inherited are called “for life.” “By the 1950s, there was a feeling the membership of the House of Lords ought to be tackled. … Continue reading →

Posted in Act of Parliament, British history, Inheritance, Living in the UK, peerage, primogenture, research | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Peerages: Those Which Can Be Inherited and Those Which Cannot

Entails and Common Recovery

Posted on February 24, 2023 by Regina Jeffers

As always happens, I received a number of questions on Wednesday’s post on A Debt-Ridden Inheritance about the legality of all this. Back in feudal times, land was given from lord to tenant in exchange for services. This “service” could … Continue reading →

Posted in British history, estates, family, Georgian England, Georgian Era, Great Britain, historical fiction, history, Inheritance, Jane Austen, Living in the Regency, Living in the UK, medieval, Pride and Prejudice, primogenture, real life tales, Regency era, research | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Entails and Common Recovery

A Debt-Ridden Inheritance During the Regency Era

Posted on February 22, 2023 by Regina Jeffers

Those of us who write JAFF are very familiar with Mrs. Bennet’s fears of being driven into the hedgerows after Mr. Collins takes over Longbourn in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Though Mr. Bennet had not left behind a debt-ridden … Continue reading →

Posted in British history, customs and tradiitons, family, Georgian England, Georgian Era, Inheritance, Living in the Regency, Living in the UK, primogenture, real life tales, Regency era, Regency romance, titles of aristocracy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Courtesy Title or Not, Part 2

Posted on January 9, 2023 by Regina Jeffers

I fear last Monday’s post stirred up more confusion than clarity. Such is the problem for many American writers of Regency era stories. Without a peerage system of our own in the U.S., we become easily confused. Most assuredly, I … Continue reading →

Posted in British history, customs and tradiitons, eBooks, Georgian England, Georgian Era, heroines, historical fiction, history, Inheritance, Living in the Regency, peerage, real life tales, Regency era, research, titles of aristocracy, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Courtesy Title or Not, Part 2

Inheritance and Illegitimate Heirs + “The Earl Claims His Comfort” + Excerpt

Posted on October 10, 2022 by Regina Jeffers

INHERITANCE FOR ILLEGITIMATE SONS Could an illegitimate son inherit during the Regency? We are speaking of the illegitimate son inheriting the man’s property, not necessarily his peerage/title. First one must realize that there is actually a rule against perpetuity law … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Opal Books, blog hop, book excerpts, book release, British history, eBooks, Georgian England, Georgian Era, historical fiction, Inheritance, primogenture, Regency era, Regency romance, research, romance | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Strict Social Structure of Jane Austen’s Novels

Posted on April 27, 2022 by Regina Jeffers

Overall, the early 19th Century novels were those that expressed society in realistic terms. Austen’s novels, as well as others of her time, immerse the reader in the various levels of society, the social strata, so to speak. Austen does … Continue reading →

Posted in Austen Authors, British currency, British history, customs and tradiitons, estates, Georgian England, Inheritance, Jane Austen, literature, Living in the Regency, marriage, Persuasion, Pride and Prejudice, primogenture, real life tales, Regency era | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Primogeniture and Inheritance and the Need for a Widow’s Pension in Jane Austen’s Novels

Posted on September 15, 2021 by Regina Jeffers

By Jane Austen’s time, primogeniture was no longer the law of the land, but it remained a strongly entrenched custom of inheritance proceedings. Breaking apart large landholdings were frowned upon. An impoverished aristocracy, whose wealth rested in the agricultural realm, … Continue reading →

Posted in Austen Authors, British history, customs and tradiitons, estates, family, Georgian England, Inheritance, Jane Austen, Living in the Regency, Pride and Prejudice, primogenture, real life tales, Regency era | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Primogeniture and Inheritance and the Need for a Widow’s Pension in Jane Austen’s Novels