103 Iowa L. Rev. 2293 (2018)

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Abstract

Globally, the use of will-substitutes to transmit property upon death has been on the rise. Will-substitutes, voluntary and freely revocable instruments that effectuate the post-mortem, gratuitous transfer of assets, operate outside the confines of traditional succession law. In the United States, the motives driving the proliferation of such mechanisms and the legal implications of their use have been extensively addressed by both the legislature and legal doctrine. In Spain, by contrast, the gradual adoption and growing use of will-substitutes has failed to garner similar scholarly interest and legal elaboration. In this article, written from the perspective of a continental lawyer, we will explore the characteristics of the American and Spanish succession law systems that have led to the unequal development of will-substitutes.