Drexel Law Review Symposium: Inheritance and Inequality

Friday and Saturday, September 27 & 28, 2024

8:00 AM-5:00 PM

Wealth inequality, and all the other forms of inequality that flow from it – social, political, health, educational – has troubled academics, policy makers, economists, and others for some years now. Wealth, and its lack, is tied directly to inheritance, that is, the practices, laws, and culture that facilitate, or inhibit, the transmission of wealth in all its forms from one generation to the next. Speakers at this conference will address the many ways that inequality is embedded in inheritance law and practice around the world; they will also discuss ways to make these laws and practices work for all, including for demographics who have traditionally been cut off from successful wealth transmission. Speakers will address, among other topics, the role of such different technologies and strategies as AI and trusts play in exacerbating or reducing inheritance inequality; the fits and misfits of today’s families and inheritance law; cultural, philosophical, and tax connections; and other intersections between inheritance and inequality. Keynote speaker Chris Rabb will discuss the many intersections of race, wealth, and social enterprise, including in his own life. The conference will conclude with commentary by the authors of “A Critical Research Agenda for Wills, Trusts, and Estates,” which they presented a decade ago at the first conference exploring connections between inheritance law, on the one hand, and race, gender, sexual orientation, and class, on the other.

More Info & Registration