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

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.