One child carries on running the business, whilst another is not even mentioned in the will or inherits less than they would be entitled to by law. It is also often the case that the business was handed over many years ago and, in the end, little more than a simple current account remains in the estate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anyone wishing to calculate their statutory share in this situation encounters a problem that does not arise with houses or bank accounts. For a house, there are comparative prices; for a bank account, there is a balance. In the case of a company, the decisive figure does not even exist at the time of death. It only comes into being when someone calculates it, and the result depends on who is doing the calculation and which method is used.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before that, however, there is a question that does not arise in relation to any other item in the estate. Either a plot of land belonged to the deceased, or it did not. A shareholding, on the other hand, may disappear from the estate at the moment of death because the articles of association so provide. It is then replaced by a sum of money that the shareholders agreed amongst themselves years ago, often far below the company\u2019s actual value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n