STATE AS HEIR

Wairarapa Times-Age, 15 April 1939, Page 2

STATE AS HEIR

EXPERIMENT IN SWEDEN. RESTRICTION ON BEQUESTS. During the past 10 years the Swedish Government has inherited 5,556,628 kroner (£286.425)—n0t because publicspirited citizens could think of no wortheir heir than the State for their bequests. but because an Inheritance Law, adopted in 1928, excludes cousins and more remote relatives from inheriting in cases where a person dies intestate. Fifty-seven "summer colonies” for poor children have been established with the money thus falling to the State, and 53 more of these colonies, already in existence, have benefited. In addition, 30 permanent children’s homes have been established, and 64 others have received financial support from the same source. Children's creches, kindergartens, and bureaux giving medical advice about the care of babies have also benefited from the State heritage. So have a number of technical schools, boy scout centres, and private organisations for social work. In a booklet published on the tenth anniversary of the fund it is explained that the purpose of the Inheritance Law was not to increase the income of the State, and indeed the law stipulates that all money inherited is to be used for the care and education of children and young persons. In this way the social function of inheritance is fulfilled even though the fulfilment bo transferred from the individual to the social plane. For the same reason money is never given for purposes which have to be financed with public money anyway. The State as heir is not a mere confiscated of property. The cases affected by the law are, as a rule, in one of the three following categories: — (1) Where a person dies in modest financial circumstances. (2) Where minority, insanity, or other reasons have prevented a person from making a will. (3) Where a person dies intestate because sudden decease prevents his making dispositions regarding his fortune. The State may renounce its right in favour of a relative or other person connected with the deceased in special circumstances. The original intention to distribute only the interest on the principal of the fund has been modified; now only one-third of the money obtained has to be added to the fund, while the rest can be distributed immediately in addition to the interest on the capital. General interest was created in the fund by attracting attention to its activity from the outset by annual awards of some importance.