Grimmauld Place

[kiricat2001]

No: HPFGUIDX 76162

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "president0084" 
<president0084 at y...> wrote:
> If Sirius was on the run from the MOM so how did it come about that 
> he inherited the house? 
> 
> Should it not have gone to the Malfoys as the next of kin?

I don't think we know enough about how property/wealth is inherited 
in the wizard world. We may all be energetically applying what we 
know of our own understanding of wills, probate, etc. while JKR may 
have constructed something entirely different, because, after all, 
it's her world.

A possible explanation was posted recently dealing with the the 
concept of entailment.  This is not mine - I'm merely passing along 
what I remember.  Entailment, if I've understood it correctly, was a 
popular vehicle for passing on the family goods in victorian times.  
Essentially, a patriarch of the family establishes that the property 
of the family is inherited by the eldest son. It doesn't matter if 
the son is a criminal or crazy or whatever; he inherits the family 
property/wealth.  Thus, Sirius would inherit the family homestead, 12 
Grimmauld Place, regardless of his parents' wishes, because he's the 
eldest surviving son at the time of his father's death.  If his 
father accumulated wealth or other properties during his life, he 
could will them to whomever he chose, but the old family property 
cannot be bequested to anyone other than the oldest surviving male 
heir.  

Being on the run from the Ministry would not necessarily mean that 
one cannot inherit.  I may be a criminal, but that doesn't 
automatically mean that the state or the government is entitled to 
take over my property or my bank account.  So, sure, Sirius could 
inherit property.  The MoM might very well station an Auror or two 
outside the house, hoping to capture that escaped convict when he 
comes waltzing down the sidewalk to claim the family hearth, but, if 
he chooses to reside elsewhere, they don't catch him.  Yet, he's 
still the owner of the property.  

Of course, this doesn't take tax issues into question.  If Convict! 
Sirius inherits the property, but doesn't fill out the proper forms 
to pay taxes because he's busy fighting to keep his sanity in 
Azkaban, can the Ministry, at some point, claim the property in 
question because of back taxes owed?

Is there an accountant out there?  Where's that Weaseley squib when 
we need him???

Marianne