Public Values and Attitudes about Entitlements to a Deceased’s Property

A nationwide survey of public attitudes and values about entitlements to a person’s property after they die.
About the project
This nationwide project will investigate public attitudes and values about entitlements to a deceased person’s property to assist the Law Commission’s review of the law of succession (i.e., the system of rules that governs who gets a person’s property when they die). The project involves telephone interviews with a random sample of 1500 New Zealanders aged 18+ years (supplemented with booster samples of 150 Māori, 100 Pacific and 100 Asian peoples) regarding when the deceased person has left a will or has died without a will. This research will help inform the Law Commission’s review of the law of succession.
Grant amount
$164,454 for work from March 2020 – April 2021
About the research team
An interdisciplinary research team led by University of Otago principal investigators Associate Professor Nicola Taylor and Dr Megan Gollop will undertake this project based at the Children’s Issues Centre in the Faculty of Law. The research team also compromises: Ian Binnie (Solasta Consulting) and Mihiata Pirini (Faculty of Law), and advisers, Helen McQueen, John-Luke Day and Susan Paul (Law Commission).
See the final report: Entitlements to Deceased People’s Property in Aotearoa New Zealand: Public Attitudes and Values
Contact
Associate Professor Nicola Taylor, Director Children’s Issues Centre, University of Otago
Dr Megan Gollop, Deputy Director Children’s Issues Centre, Senior Research Fellow, University of Otago,