Inheritance, Property and Family Relationships, 1990-1994

<P>Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.</P><br>This is an enhanced qualitative study.<br>
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This study explores the relationships between inheritance of property and kinship as expressed in people's hopes and fears, plans and strategies, actions and reasoning in relation to the role of inheritance in their own lives. In examining how families handle inheritance, the focus is not so much on the property as on the relationships. The process of handling the transmission of property reveals the character and quality of kinship relationships. This research aims to find out how families handle matters concerning inheritance of property in the circumstances of the 1990s. Do people have clear beliefs and expectations about who should inherit, and how assets should be divided? Are these matters discussed openly in families, or alluded to indirectly? Do expectations about inheritance get linked with other responsibilities in families, for example, responsibility for the care of an elderly person?<br>
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In-depth interviews were conducted with members of the public about their views and experiences of inheritance. The aim was to discover how inheritance was negotiated with kin in families that had not held land or considerable property over generations. Interviewees were selected through a form of quota sampling where quotas were defined in 'theoretical' rather than representational terms. This intended to generate a range of interview characteristics and experiences, allowing for comparison, interpretation and analysis using theoretical principles. The researchers used the logic of analytic induction in the analytical process. This involves the systematic search for negative instances and alternative explanations across a range of relevant situations.<br>
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The sample was not intended to be representative of the wider population, but to bring into play the following characteristics and experiences that are especially pertinent for inheritance and kinship:<ul><li>gender</li><li>housing tenure</li><li>divorce, separation, re-partnering and step-relationships</li><li>age</li><li>ethnicity</li><li>people for whom paying for care had been an issue</li><li>wills</li><li>experience of being a beneficiary</li><li>kin groups</li></ul>The sample was constructed through a variety of mechanisms:<ul><li>drawing names and addresses from the electoral register, targeting new voters and specific geographical areas known to contain certain forms of housing and tenure</li><li>contacting residential care homes and sheltered housing schemes</li><li>using personal contacts to inflate the sample of Asian descent interviewees</li></ul>The interviews were semi-structured and designed so interviewers could follow up specific examples of inheritance and related practices in ways sensitive to their own biographies.<br>
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Only 65 of the original 88 interviews with 98 members of the public were deposited with the UKDA.<br>
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The collection was deposited on paper. It was enhanced through scanning and conversion into PDF documents and fully anonymised.<br>