Overview

This bill modernizes the rules of succession for hereditary peerages in the UK, ensuring equal inheritance rights for men and women. It establishes a "universal rule of succession" based on primogeniture with gender equality, affecting how peerages are passed down through families.

Description

Universal Rule of Succession

The bill introduces a universal rule of succession for hereditary peerages. This means that daughters and their descendants will now inherit peerages on an equal footing with sons, ending the previous system of male primogeniture. However, within a sibling group, males and their descendants will still have precedence over females and their descendants.

Extinct Peerages

The bill addresses peerages that have become extinct since February 6th, 1952, by applying the new universal rule retrospectively. It also allows for petitions to apply this rule to certain peerages that became extinct before that date, subject to specific conditions and Her Majesty's approval. This process is time-limited, with a one-year deadline for petitions after the bill's commencement.

Peerages in Abeyance

For peerages currently in abeyance (where there are two or more claimants with equal inheritance rights), the bill dictates that the new universal rule will be applied to determine the successor.

Exclusions

The bill explicitly states it does not affect the succession to the Crown, existing holdings of the monarch, or the inheritance of any other property (land or personal). It also does not affect any successions to peerages that already occurred before the bill's implementation.

Government Spending

The bill is not expected to significantly affect government spending. The costs associated with the implementation of the new rules are likely to be minimal.

Groups Affected

• Women and their descendants: They will now have equal rights of inheritance to hereditary peerages.
• Claimants to extinct peerages: Individuals who would have inherited peerages under the new rules, both extinct before and after February 6th, 1952 may be affected. Those who would have inherited peerages that became extinct before February 6th, 1952, must petition for consideration.
• House of Lords: The composition of the House of Lords may change over time as a result of the new succession rules.

Powered by nyModel