A Therapeutic Jurisprudential Framework of Estate Planning

Abstract

The psychological consequences of the law of succession largely have been overlooked. This oversight is confounding given that the estate planning and probate processes are emotionally charged and raise a number of psychological issues. Filling this analytical void, this article examines the estate planning process from a therapeutic jurisprudential perspective and makes two primary contributions to the study of the law of succession. First, the article identifies the psychological consequences of the estate planning process. Although the analysis suggests that certain aspects of preparing and implementing an estate plan can negatively affect one’s psychological wellbeing, the analysis also reveals that estate planning has positive psychological consequences, which contribute to the process’s overall therapeutic nature. Second, the article develops the therapeutic and antitherapeutic qualities of estate planning into a framework through which to analyze how reforms of the law of succession will affect the therapeutic potential of the estate planning process. Ultimately, this article encourages the continued use of the therapeutic jurisprudential framework in the estate planning context and seeks to inspire further therapeutic jurisprudential analysis throughout the law of succession.

Keywords: Estate Planning, Therapeutic Jurisprudence

JEL Classification: K10, K11, K19, K30, K39