Claiming a Promised Inheritance examines those cases where a person is promised a future inheritance and, having acted on it, later discovers that the promise is unfulfilled. The book structures its analysis and argument around the stories of disappointed promisees and their unfulfilled expectations of a future inheritance, and how they might seek redress. It maps and compares the various, and often very diverse range of legal responses that a promisee can avail herself of across different legal areas of the law (ranging from contract law to property law, employment law, unjust and unjustified enrichment law, and succession law) and in both common and civil law traditions. Braun asks how these responses protect the interests of promisees and whether they are sensitive to the context in which such promises are expressed. In doing so, the focus rests on the level of protection the various forms of redress grant, their scope, and the challenges promisees face when brining a claim, but also on the values and interests that are at stake when granting relief. This book argues that due to the social and legal context within which promises of a future inheritance are normally made, promisees are usually in a vulnerable position that can easily by exploited. It further argues that the law is usually more acutely attuned to the risks that the promisor incurs and that greater attention should be paid to the challenges promisees face. Claiming a Promised Inheritance thus complements the traditional viewpoint by bringing into focus the (too often ignored) perspective of promisees.

"With her book, Professor Braun has opened up previously unexplored fields. At the same time, through her extremely thorough, intelligent and both historically deep and socially sensitive analyses, she sets methodological standards of comparative research today." - Nils Jansen, Professor of Civil Law and Director at the Institute of Legal History, University of Münster

"This is a book of extraordinary depth and breadth, covering the mysterious area of testamentary promises that sits between succession and contract. Alexandra Braun has considered the law of testamentary promises and how the failure of the promise to be carried out is handled across a wide range of common law and civil law countries; and New Zealand, which is the only country with testamentary promises legislation. Braun canvasses the different ways jurisdictions handle the promise to leave a gift by will to a carer, a son expecting a farm, or perhaps a housekeeper with extraordinary expertise and clarity. Her ability to compare and contrast a range of different legal cultures at significant depth is second to none. Anyone with an interest in succession or contract should read this book. They will be amply rewarded." - Prue Vines, Professor of Law and Co-Director of the Private Law Research & Policy Group at UNSW, Sydney

"In this impressive monograph Alexandra Braun offers a comparative legal analysis of relevant case law that is both critical and context-sensitive." - , Law Books of the YearJuristen Zeitung