Laws of Inheritance in Dern

Laws of Inheritance
For a child of a noble to inherit lands, titles, or estates all of the following must be true:


The child must be the eldest surviving child (absolute primogeniture). Younger children may only inherit lesser titles and lands and money set aside for them


That child must be legitimate (born from a legal marriage)


OR legitimized by ducal decree AND law AND by the priests of Aohr in cases of there being no other heir.


OR in cases of adoption, the adoption must be blessed by the priests of Aohr and priestesses of Rayna through special rituals binding the child to the blood of the house.


For a marriage to be legal and valid, all of the following conditions must be met:


The couple must be neither already wed nor precontracted to marry someone else


Both individuals must consent to the marriage and must not be forced into the marriage


The couple must not be related too closely (anything closer than 5 degrees of relation is prohibited)


The couple must have permission to marry from the head of their house, or in the case of the heads of houses, approval from the Council


Nobles may not marry foreigners without permission from the Duke and the Council (with the exception of the Duke, who is expected to marry foreigners to cement treaties and alliances)


The marriage must be witnessed by at least 2 reliable witnesses of equal rank to the couple


A contract must be signed by the couple and the witnesses


The Duke and Council must be notified of the marriage within a month or as soon as is reasonably feasible


In the event of remarriage, at least a year must have passed since the end, whether by death, divorce or annulment, of the previous union


The child may not marry without permission or marry a non-noble without express prior permission from the head of house