What do bequests in married couples with a surviving spouse tell us about bequest motives?
中文摘要
本文研究已婚夫妇在第一配偶去世后产生的遗赠。本文使用美国关于向夫妇每个子女实际（而非意愿或预期）遗赠的代表性数据，对这些遗赠进行了首次系统性考察。我发现，这些遗赠在子女间的分配与单身个体留下的遗赠极为相似，而后者一直是文献近乎唯一的关注点。在这两种情况下，我都观察到对基于交换和演化心理学的遗赠理论的有力支持，而没有支持利他或王朝模型的证据。本文的另一新颖之处在于，我记录了不同类型的资产——住宅、遗产和人寿保险——表现出不同的遗赠模式。虽然遗产通常被均等分配，但父母往往不均等地分配人寿保险，尤其是住房资产，且经常将这些资产留给提供照护的子女。选择性剥夺某些子女（尤其是继子女）的继承权现象很普遍。• 已婚夫妇在第一配偶去世后的遗赠是常见且数额巨大的。• 已婚与单身父母在子女间分配遗赠的方式相似。• 遗赠反映了交换与演化遗赠动机。• 不同类型的资产被遗赠的方式不同。• 遗产被均等分配，而保险与住房被不均等分配。
Abstract
This paper studies the bequests that arise in married couples after the death of the first spouse. It provides the first systematic examination of these bequests using representative data from the United States on the actual (not intended or expected) bequests made to each of the couple’s children. I find that these bequests are divided among children very similarly to the bequests left by single individuals, which have been the near-exclusive focus of the literature. In both cases, I observe strong support for theories of bequests based on exchange and evolutionary psychology and no evidence for altruistic or dynastic models. Also novel to this paper, I document that different types of assets—residences, estates, and life insurance—exhibit different bequest patterns. While estates are typically equally divided, parents often divide life insurance and especially housing assets unequally, often leaving these assets to caregiving children. Selective disinheritance of certain children, particularly stepchildren, is common. • Bequests in married couples after the first spouse’s death are common and large. • Married and single parents divide bequests among their children similarly. • Bequests reflect exchange and evolutionary bequest motives. • Different types of assets are bequeathed differently. • Whereas estates are divided equally, insurance and housing are left unequally.