Sirius's Will

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 107235

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, Magda Grantwich
<mgrantwich at y...> wrote:
> > luckdragon64 posted:
> > Who will inherit the Black family fortune and home now that Sirius 
> > is dead?  

> Magda,
>  
> It's entirely possible that Sirius had no say in the disposition of
> the house.  If he inherited it from Mrs. Black, then it was probably
> entailed since I can't imagine that if she had any discretion in the
> matter she would have left it to her traitor son rather than 
> Narcissa instead.  
> 
> However, the money is probably his own, and I would hope he'd leave
> a lot of it to Lupin.
> 
> Magda

Asian_lovr2:

The matter of Entailments is sort of the monkey-wrench in the works.
It's especially confusing to an American who typically doesn't see
inheritance guided by the same rules as in Europe.

By definition, an Entailment does the following - "2.To limit the
inheritance of (property) to a specified succession of heirs. 3. To
bestow or impose on a person or a specified succession of heirs". I
think the standard Entailment in Europe is that the first born male
direct decendant has top priority in inheriting the family estate.
That is done to prevent the family fortune from being diluted through
successive generations. In the US, all sons and daughters have equal
claim to the estate unless a Will has been created setting specific
guidelines. 

If there is no direct decendant, and no Will dictating distribution of
the estate, the estate would be divided between nearest living
relatives. I assume first priority would go to indirect first born
males (Draco). However, the three cousins are actually closer to
Sirius than Draco, so they would have some priority. 

You are right on one point, although you stated it differently. There
are two estates; Sirius Black's personal estate which is primarily
cash and probably has fewer encumbrances than the Black Family Estate
which probably included money and property. 

Like others, I would really like to see Lupin get a piece of it. It's
about time the guy finally got a break in life. 

I personally think Sirius DID leave a Will, but it will be handwritten
by himself and probably witnessed by Lupin which leaves room for it to
be contested. 

As I stated before, I think a fight between Harry and Draco over the
matter would raise an interesting sub-plot. Harry wouldn't be interest
in the money, but he would be furious at the idea of Draco getting it.

Just a thought.

Steve/Asian_lovr2