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    Writing (gay and lesbian) wills

    Monk, Daniel (2014) Writing (gay and lesbian) wills. Oñati Socio-Legal Series 4 (2), pp. 306-322. ISSN 2079-5971.

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    Abstract

    This article presents some of the findings of an empirical research project that explored writing wills for gay men and lesbians. The research aimed to examine the extent to which wills might contribute to sociological debates about alternative kinships and intimate citizenship. While the overarching aim of the project was an interest in the contents of the wills (which is to say the intentions of the testators), it also revealed the influence of the lawyers on the contents of the wills and the extent to which changes in legal practice in England have impacted on the place of will-drafting within the legal profession. Exploring this throws light on the extent to which wills express the authentic voice of a testator and raises questions about access to qualified will writers. Turning to the content of the wills, the place of ‘god children’ or children of friends’ is examined. While a very particular type of beneficiary, the focus provides a space for thinking more widely about the construction of the ‘inheritance families’ of gay men and lesbians.

    Metadata

    Item Type: Article
    Keyword(s) / Subject(s): Wills, inheritance, gay men and lesbians, lawyers
    School: Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Business and Law > Birkbeck Law School
    Research Centres and Institutes: Gender and Sexuality, Birkbeck (BiGS), Social Research, Birkbeck Institute for (BISR)
    Depositing User: Administrator
    Date Deposited: 06 May 2014 11:46
    Last Modified: 02 Aug 2023 17:10
    URI: https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/9676

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