Dead Hands: A Social History of Wills, Trusts, and Inheritance Law - Paperback

by Lawrence M. Friedman (Author)

The law of succession rests on a single brute fact: you can't take it with you. Friedman's enlightening social history of the law of succession reveals how inheritance reflects changes values and priorities in American families and society.

Author Biography

Lawrence M. Friedman is Marion Rice Kirkwood Professor of Law at Stanford Law School. His books include Guarding Life's Dark Secrets: Legal and Social Controls over Reputation, Propriety, and Privacy (Stanford, 2007), Private Lives: Families, Individuals, and the Law (2005), A History of American Law (2005, third edition), American Law in the Twentieth Century (2004), and Legal Culture in the Age of Globalization (Stanford, 2003).