Inheritance Transfer
This is a WIP
Noble Bureaucracy
Importance of Paperwork
The present day vnou nobility rely heavily on documentation – it is the expression of their power, their wealth, and all of their assets. Inevitably, the transfer of ownership must take place from one generation to the next. This process can be a complicated, messy affair depending on the circumstances surrounding the transfer. In an ideal world, all parties involved do so amicably, to the benefit of the one receiving the responsibility of the family name. There have been, however, moments in history when ambitious vnou have used messier transfers to secure power for themselves. It doesn’t matter how underhanded something is, so long as it’s done legally. Or at least in a way that seems legal and no one can prove otherwise. When it comes to the transfer of inheritance of Shpou, it’s a main event. Shpou is the family. They bear the weight, responsibility, and reputation of the family – but that means they generally inherit everything else that comes along with it. That can involve a lot of complicated contracts, business holdings, bank accounts, land transfers, debts, and favors.These important moments are usually held in rather private meetings – somber parties – that give all important members of a family a chance to read and review whatever they want in the process. This can take hours, sometimes days, if there happens to be a conflict in the wording or the transfer of something particular.
He was too young, it was too soon, and no one wanted him to have it. Not not. Not after his father had to be put down like some animal. A broken Dha…
< Reldyn… > Nykel was always around, now. Whatever he could, Reldyn shoved off on his Bya. Nothing felt important anymore. Not even the funeral. His parents were already dead and everyone around him felt like sharks. Circling bloody water, waiting for Reldyn to go under. He need only brush against the minds around him to know that all the vnou just wanted to see what they would get out of it, what they could get out of him. Reldyn had never thought there was love amongst his family, but he'd never realized just how fragile some of those bonds were until they frayed at the loss of his father.
Untested, Reldyn could be usurped. It would not be the first time the Shpazh line was adjusted and the Shpou moved to an adjacent family. It was referred to as a correction in their family history but his mother had been more brutal about it when he’d asked. Those corrections were weak Shpazh who could not hold on to their rule and did not deserve for the Shpou to follow their name, their lineage.
He had promised he would not be one of those corrections.
< Reldyn… > This time Nykel stood next to him and lightly touched his elbow.
< What? > He didn’t look at his Bya but continued to look at the various photos on the shelf in his father’s office. Carefully curated family photos. His mother smiling, dressed perfectly. He remembered all of the times they’d posed for the various pictures – nothing candid, nothing spur of the moment. That hadn’t changed the way he’d felt around his parents. Looked after. A safety net should he make a mistake. That was gone now.
< I called for a Blemang… I thought it would be better… > That did draw Reldyn’s attention. This was a family matter. It should be handled by Shpazh. His flash of irritation died when he saw the concern so blatant on the soft face of his Bya.
Normally. If his parents were alive and this were a traditional transfer. If they could count on anyone to be impartial, to be thorough… Blemang was probably the best choice. His relatives would hate it but he needed to look out for himself, first. < Take me to him. >
Arbitration & Outside Involvement
When there is a dispute on wording, when law must be interpreted, or when the transfer of inheritance might not be a smooth process, there is only one family that the rest of the nobility would even consider calling in for arbitration. Sid'Blemang’s devotion to the letter of the law is second to none. They cannot be bought, cannot be swayed, and care not for any of the other nobility’s interests. They don’t even care about morality – only what is and is not the truth. Once they have accepted a job, they complete it. Any attempts to bribe or otherwise coerce a Blemang has never ended well for the offending party, as the Blemang family tends to then go after them for the insult.While a family might find it insulting for a Blemang to be called in to review documents and contracts of transfer for inheritance, some might even protest the use of them, none could question the thoroughness or neutrality of the Blemang in question. Such perceived insults can bring unnecessary discord into a family and stress on relations, so outside arbitration and involvement is incredibly rare. Done only under the most extenuating of circumstances.
Execution
For the vast majority of cases, inheritance transfers can be completed with in-house lawyers and submitted through the family’s own channels to the Library of Archived Records. When the process runs smoothly, it can take a couple of days for the family’s authorization for it to be submitted and the transfer to be considered complete. The use of Blemang in this process can make it take longer but it has an added layer of guarantees for the inheritor. Blemang are capable and qualified of carrying out transfers according to whatever will might have been left in regards to inheritance, which can cut down on the infighting. Sometimes.
T^T I love this snippet, poor Reldyn. Nykel is such a good Bya. Also I love Blemang. Such nerds.
I love so many of the families for so many different reasons. Blemang are my stuffy nerd lawyers. No wonder they get harassed by some of the most colorful families. 8D