Primogeniture - Definition - Law Dictionary Home Dictionary Definition primogeniture

Definition :

Primogeniture, seniority, eldership, state of being first-born.

The right of primogeniture obtaining in the United Kingdom was that right whereby the eldest son succeeded to all the real estate of an intestate parent. An analogous right of succession is frequently given by will, and even more frequently given and preserved by marriage or other settlement. The right was not acknowledged by the Romans; sons and daughters all shared equally the property of their parents; and in continental coun-tries exists in a modified form only, if at all. See Eyre Lloyd's 'Rights of Primogeniture and Succession.' In England the customs of gavelkind and Borough-English were almost the only exceptions to this Norman rule of inheritance.

The right, which was a corner-stone of the social structure in England, has been swept away by the land legislation of 1925. See DESCENT. Hereditary dignities and titles of honour are not affected. [Cf. Law of Property Act, 1925, s. 201 (2)]

Means first born and denotes the preferential rights of the senior-most in age to succeed to the estate, since senior-most in age is entitled to succeed to

the estate in preference to his younger brother, Annasaheb Bapusahab Patil v. Balwant Bapusahab Patil, AIR 1995 SC 895 (899).