Figuring out fairness: The social construction of inheritance entitlements in close relationships

Powell, Rhian 2024. Figuring out fairness: The social construction of inheritance entitlements in close relationships. Sociological Review 72 (2) , pp. 378-393. 10.1177/00380261231156681

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Abstract

This article explores the social significance of writing a will and argues that how will-makers think about inheritance is tied to shifting understandings of kin, closeness and fairness. Will-writing is an overlooked and under-researched area of the social world but is a socially potent area of research, capable of revealing how people construct their moral landscapes. Drawing on the accounts shared by 22 elderly people considering what to do with their money when they die, this article illuminates how will-makers make appeals to different principles of fairness to relationally organise their social relationships, and to make these categorisations visible to others. Whilst fairness can act as a helpful normative framework for will-makers to draw upon in the legitimisation of their decisions, it is fundamentally a fluid concept that must be negotiated and explored in each context.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Social Sciences (Includes Criminology and Education) Wales Institute of Social & Economic Research, Data & Methods (WISERD)
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
ISSN:	0038-0261
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	11 July 2023
Date of Acceptance:	12 January 2023
Last Modified:	29 Apr 2024 13:17
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/158331

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