The Law and the Dead

Overview

Death is universal, and creates distinct series of legal issues- affecting both the deceased and those who are left behind- from the moment of someone’s passing. This module explores selected issues, around the fate of the recently dead and the assets that they leave behind. It fuses the doctrinal with the theoretical, and draws on a range of other disciplines beyond law.

Part 1 of the module looks at the fate of the recently dead, focusing on three distinct topics: (i) post-mortems, and the law’s adaptation to new methods of technology and religious/cultural sensitivities towards invasive procedures; (ii) the legal resolution of family disputes over funerals; and (iii) the legal challenges posed by new methods of bodily disposal (e.g. natural burial, water cremation and human composting) that are being driven by demand for greater choice and environmental concerns.

Part 2 of the module looks at core elements of succession law. Beginning with theories of inheritance, it focuses on will-making and the attempts to move beyond rigid compliance with legal formalities in the internet age and drawing also on the recent experience of the pandemic (when will-making increased significantly and access to legal services was more difficult). This is followed by intestacy laws (rules for estate distribution where someone dies without a (valid) will) and whether these laws replicate modern notions of kinship and family. The module then moves to family provision, which allows specific relatives and dependants to challenge the fact that they did not receive anything/enough from the deceased’s estate, and focuses on high-profile, contentious legal disputes between two categories of applicant: surviving spouses and independent adult children. The family provision system (unique to the common law) is contrasted with civil law inheritance systems with their fixed shares spouses and dependants. Finally, the module looks at the legal and social policy issues ‘of dead hand control’, where will-makers try to control their beneficiaries’ behaviours and lifestyle choices from beyond the grave by leaving gifts with forfeiting conditions attached.

Learning Objectives

Students will acquire a deep knowledge and understanding of selected laws around the fate of the dead and core inheritance issues; a critical awareness of how these laws operate, and of the broader legal and policy objectives underpinning them; and the intersection of these laws with other disciplines (e.g. death studies, economics). Students will also be able to critically analyse these laws, and to construct independent arguments about their current status and future development in looking at contemporary debates at the forefront of the field.

Skills

As part of enhancing and developing core skills, students will acquire the ability to:
• identify, understand, interpret and evaluate existing laws and important contemporary societal concerns in selected aspects of the law and the dead;
• evaluate materials from other disciplines, to develop a broader understanding and contextual awareness of the core issues arising here;
• critically construct their own positions and develop independent arguments through a mix of scholarly reading, group discussion and independent research;
• convey these arguments and positions clearly and succinctly, in both oral and written form, to specialist audiences; and
• undertake independent research, and formulate appropriate research questions, as part of the assessment process.

Assessment

Successful completion of module assessments (coursework format).

The module will be assessed by a single coursework essay designed to give students an opportunity to undertake an in-depth piece of legal research. Students will be able to choose their essay from the list provided by the module convenor, or write an essay on a topic of their choice (and linked to topics covered in the module) subject to the consent of both the internal and external examiners.