Benefit of Inventory

Benefit of Inventory, in the Scots law, was a legal privilege whereby an heir secured himself against unlimited liability for his ancestor, by giving up, within the Annus deliberandi (q.v.), an inventory of his heritage or real estate, to the extent of which, and no further, was the heir liable. The method of obtaining this privilege was simplified in 1847 and 1868, but it is now superseded by the general declaration in the Conveyancing (Scotland) Act, 1874, that 'an heir shall not be liable for the debts of his ancestor beyond the value of the estate of such ancestor to which he succeeds.' Of course this does not prevent universal liability where the estate is conveyed by a general settlement of all property belonging to the ancestor. See ANNUS DELIBERANDI, INHERITANCE, DEBT, and MORTGAGE.