Societal and Ideological Challenges for Succession and Inheritance Laws in Today’s Societies

Dear Colleagues,

Succession law is increasingly challenged by the complexities of modern-day society. Societally and ideologically evolving dynamics prompt legal systems to critically assess and continuously refine their legal frameworks. This Special Issue aims to provide an exploration of the evolving landscape of succession law, shedding light on how legal systems are adapting to meet some of these societal changes.

Our aim is to foster an exchange of perspectives on how contemporary legal systems reconcile the foundational principles of succession law with the demands of contemporary society.

Contributors are invited to share their insights on issues related to, but not limited to, one or more of the following four challenges:

• Changing Family Structures: Traditionally, succession law prioritizes blood relations and traditional family structures. Yet, today’s society witnesses a rise in diverse, non-traditional family structures that challenge these norms.
  On the one hand, we may ask who qualifies as a child that is entitled to rights or protection within succession law. For instance, how should succession laws deal with adopted children or stepchildren?
  On the other hand, we may ask who qualifies as a partner that is entitled to rights or protection within succession law. For instance, what should be the entitlements of unmarried cohabiting partners, or even of partners in LAT relations or polyamorous partners?
• Individualization and Autonomy: Modern-day societies often emphasize the importance of personal autonomy, which is also expressed in the principle of freedom to dispose or to testate.
  On the one hand, traditional forms of mandatory family protection (for instance, through forced heirship or compulsory portions, or via family provisions) may form a far-reaching limitation of this freedom. Is such a limitation still justified? To what extent? And on what grounds?
  On the other hand, legal systems must consider how the freedom to testate can be reconciled with the increasing desire of customized estate planning. In that context there is a growing ask for being allowed to enter into succession agreements. To what extent, under what formalities and protective rules could or should someone be permitted to conclude a succession agreement regarding the settlement of their own future estate. Could or should it even possible for third parties to conclude such agreement regarding someone else’s future estate (e.g., children regarding their parent’s estate)?
• Digitalization: The rise of digital assets (cryptocurrencies, social media accounts, intellectual property, etc.) introduces novel challenges in succession law, for instance regarding the administration and transfer of digital estates upon death. Other issues related to digitalization may include the validity of electronic wills, as many legal systems traditionally only recognize holographic (handwritten) wills.
• Globalization: Lastly, the emergence of multicultural societies reveals increasing tensions between succession laws and diverse cultural or religious practices, while succession law may fail to address the specific needs of various minority groups. Questions may arise as to how succession law can balance a uniform legal framework with inclusivity.
• Issues related to conflict of laws are excluded from the scope of this Special Issue.

We encourage submissions that explore these topics as well as other challenges arising from the evolutions in modern-day societies and their impact on succession law.

Following the submission deadline, we aim to organize a collective online meeting in early 2026 to discuss all submissions and facilitate exchanges of ideas among all participating authors.  

Eventually based on such dialogues, adaptations of the text can be made to be finally submitted by April 2026.

Prof. Dr. Alain-Laurent Verbeke
Dr. Hannelore Thijs
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Laws is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• succession law
• inheritance law
• freedom of testation
• compulsory portion
• cross-border succession
• digital inheritance