Inheritance, Succession and Authority: Changing Marriage Practices in Contemporary Society

Abstract

This paper explores the intricate interconnections between inheritance, succession, and authority within the institution of marriage, highlighting how these structures have transformed in response to modernization, globalization, and evolving gender relations. Traditionally, family and kinship have served as the foundation of authority and inheritance, sustaining patriarchal social order and property transmission. However, in contemporary society, changing marriage practices — such as inter-caste unions, love marriages, same-sex partnerships, live-in relationships, and delayed marriages — are redefining norms of legitimacy, inheritance, and familial power dynamics. Using structural-functionalist, alliance, and cultural theoretical frameworks, this study examines how socio-legal reforms, feminist movements, and global cultural flows are reshaping ideas of kinship, gender, and authority. The analysis also situates these changes in the context of Indian family laws, focusing on inheritance rights, succession disputes, domestic violence, and crimes related to marital honor. The paper concludes by emphasizing the need for an inclusive, egalitarian, and gender-sensitive understanding of family and marriage in both sociology and law.