The Characterization of Provisions Protecting Forced Heirs Against Lifetime Dispositions

Normally, forced heirship is primarily associated with a restraint of the decedent's testamentary freedom of disposition. Nevertheless, to effectively protect the forced heirs, forced heirship systems usually also contain various mechanisms to restrain the decedent's lifetime freedom of disposition. Scholars and courts have been debating the proper characterization of these mechanisms in conflicts of laws for decades. Raphael de Barros Fritz addresses the many open questions surrounding this issue by analysing the characterization of forced heirship mechanisms in the laws of Louisiana and Germany.A. Introduction
I. The Characterization of the Provisions Protecting Forced Heirs Against Lifetime Dispositions by the Decedent
II. The Perspectives of German and Louisiana Law
III. The Structure of the Present Work
B. The Characterization Process in Louisiana and Germany
I. The Term »Characterization« and Its Subject Matter
II. The Law Governing Characterization
III. Methodology
IV. Conclusion
C. Characterizing the Provisions of Louisiana and German Law that Protect Forced Heirs and Pflichtteilsberechtigte Against Lifetime Dispositions
I. The Choice-of-Law Rules in Germany and Louisiana
II. The Substantive Law in Germany and Louisiana
III. Characterization Under the German and Louisiana Conflicts Systems
D. Conclusion
I. The Right to Freely Choose the Applicable Law
II. The Protection of the Justified Expectations of the Parties by the Succession Conflicts Rules
III. Characteristics of the Substantive Law
E. Summary
I. The Characterization Process in Louisiana and Germany
II. Characterizing the Provisions in Louisiana and German Law Protecting Forced Heirs and Pflichtteilsberechtigte Against Lifetime Dispositions