From Joe Drake of S'hampton Co, VA, and of interest to all *** .... Question: What was the purpose of the estate inventories when someone died. Did they have estate or death taxes in the 1700 and 1800's? Educate me if you would be so kind. Question: What was the purpose of the estate inventories when someone died. Did they have estate or death taxes in the 1700 and 1800's? Educate me if you would be so kind. Thank-you Joe *** Hi, Cuz Joe. In answering your question, it is necessary to speak of the whole matter of intestate proceedings. The overriding purpose of such activity is to once and for all resolve all debts owing by and those payable to the dead person, to learn of everything he/she owned at the moment of death and of the value of those assets, to determine who of the survivors is to have what share of those assets, and then to conclude and close forever the worldly affairs of that deceased. For about 800 years the power to determine who and in what percentage the assets of a person who died intestate are to be divided among those who survived has rested in the court. Before then, it was largely up to the family. The legislatures have over the same period established the order of priority among the survivors in intestate deaths. Those statutes are loosely known as "Statutes Of Descent and Distribution". Land "descends" and personal property is "distributed", thus the name given to those statutes. In addition to the taxes that from time to time and in varying amounts have been levied on estate property, both real and personal, it is the division of those assets that has been and is most significant to the family. The inventory is ordered by the court to be done by reputable/honest people who quite usually must also be deemed acceptable by the family. Those folks are to list EVERY asset, in order that sometime long after the settlement of the last affairs of the dead person no one can spring up out of the bushes and say that the inventory was not complete. Across those centuries, those appointed appraisers - usually three - take the inventory by visiting the premises (almost always), and then after swearing to the truth of their findings and lists, they file that summary with the court as part of the permanent estate file. It is from that list of sums of money and all other funds derived from the sale of any or all those assets that the court divides the total value between the heirs. When someone family member wants some particular piece of personal property or asset, the court will usually approve that IF - IF - no other heir objects. The value of that item to be taken "in kind" by an heir, as shown in the inventory entry of that piece, is then deducted from the total sum to which that heir otherwise would have received. It is this process that has caused myriad fights among families where one of the heirs enters the house and carries off what he/she want before the appraisers come by. Hope this answers your estate question Paul

Thank you for the explanation on Inventories. This should serve as a warning also to those of us who do not have a good Will. In Texas the courts still march in and appoint someone (usually an attorney) to administer the estate and when he gets his charges deducted from the value of the estate and if there are several heirs, the heirs usually can count on getting very little. Also states do have laws designating who is an heir. So if you don't like your cousin or sibling or step-mother, you had better draw up a will because they are going to have a share of anything you leave behind. Many folks say they don't have anything, but a look around the house says differently. The house, car, boat, greatgrandpa's watch, etc. are property. Tree Mother >>From Joe Drake of S'hampton Co, VA, and of interest to all > *** > .... Question: What was the purpose of the estate inventories when > someone died. Did they have estate or death taxes in the 1700 and 1800's? > Educate me if you would be so kind. > > Question: What was the purpose of the estate inventories when someone > died. Did they have estate or death taxes in the 1700 and 1800's? > Educate > me if you would be so kind. > > Thank-you > Joe > *** > > Hi, Cuz Joe. In answering your question, it is necessary to speak of the > whole matter of intestate proceedings. The overriding purpose of such > activity is to once and for all resolve all debts owing by and those > payable > to the dead person, to learn of everything he/she owned at the moment of > death and of the value of those assets, to determine who of the survivors > is > to have what share of those assets, and then to conclude and close forever > the worldly affairs of that deceased. > > For about 800 years the power to determine who and in what percentage the > assets of a person who died intestate are to be divided among those who > survived has rested in the court. Before then, it was largely up to the > family. The legislatures have over the same period established the order > of > priority among the survivors in intestate deaths. Those statutes are > loosely > known as "Statutes Of Descent and Distribution". Land "descends" and > personal property is "distributed", thus the name given to those statutes. > > In addition to the taxes that from time to time and in varying amounts > have > been levied on estate property, both real and personal, it is the division > of those assets that has been and is most significant to the family. > > The inventory is ordered by the court to be done by reputable/honest > people > who quite usually must also be deemed acceptable by the family. Those > folks > are to list EVERY asset, in order that sometime long after the settlement > of > the last affairs of the dead person no one can spring up out of the bushes > and say that the inventory was not complete. > > Across those centuries, those appointed appraisers - usually three - take > the inventory by visiting the premises (almost always), and then after > swearing to the truth of their findings and lists, they file that summary > with the court as part of the permanent estate file. It is from that list > of > sums of money and all other funds derived from the sale of any or all > those > assets that the court divides the total value between the heirs. > > When someone family member wants some particular piece of personal > property > or asset, the court will usually approve that IF - IF - no other heir > objects. The value of that item to be taken "in kind" by an heir, as shown > in the inventory entry of that piece, is then deducted from the total sum > to > which that heir otherwise would have received. > > It is this process that has caused myriad fights among families where one > of > the heirs enters the house and carries off what he/she want before the > appraisers come by. > > Hope this answers your estate question > > Paul > > > ==== VA-SOUTHSIDE Mailing List ==== > VAGenWeb > http://www.rootsweb.com/~vagenweb > > ============================== > Search the US Census Collection. Over 140 million records added in the > last 12 months. Largest online collection in the world. Learn more: > http://www.ancestry.com/s13965/rd.ashx > >