Will
Overview
Any Imperial citizen can make a will bequeathing their estate and belongings to other characters after they die. There is no requirement to have a will, it is purely a personal and roleplay choice. If you are concerned that your estate will not be passed on correctly then creating a will and leaving copies with your character's allies is the best way to ensure that your wishes are followed.
Neither Profound Decisions, nor any of our NPCs, will register or record your will. You will need to make the appropriate arrangements in game.
Making a Will
Although the Imperial legal system recognizes wills, there is no formal mechanism for creating or registering a will. It is down to the individual how they create their will, how they notarise it and who they ask to hold the will for them.
The Imperial Civil Service take no part in the administration of wills as they cannot undertake commitments which might require them to place the interests of individual citizens above those of the Empire or the Imperial Constitution.
Passing on Resources
If a person has invested in the upgrade of their personal resource they may wish to pass it on to another citizen should they die. Whoever takes on a resource after the previous owner dies will need to pay a fee of 2 crowns. If there is any doubt about who should receive the resource then the interested parties will need a magistrate to settle the dispute.
Once all in-character issues of ownership have been resolved, then the new owner should inform Profound Decisions administration team, either at GOD or by email before the end of the next downtime. We will then update the ownership accordingly.
Passing on Personal Effects
Items that the deceased are carrying with them are usually distributed amicably after death by friends and family. If there is a will in place this could be used to direct such distribution and form the basis for resolving any disputes which arise.
If a character owns significant possessions which they have not brought to Anvil, then ownership of these items follows the same rules for resources above. Items registered in a character's inventory by Profound Decisions can be transferred to another character. This can be done in person at GOD or between events by email.
As stated in the rules section on character death, any materials, coins or similar that were on your character's person at the point where you stopped phys-repping the body must be handed in when you register the death of your character.
Holding in Trust
Sometimes a character may want to instruct that a resource be held in trust by a named individual until a suitable recipient is found (e.g. a priest's congregation held until a new priest comes forward). In this situation there is no need to update ownership of the resource on the database until the trustee is ready to dispose of the asset. Any resource remains registered with the dead owner indefinitely until it is claimed.
Disputes
Issues arising from wills can be raised with magistrates as civil claims and will be heard on their own merits. The magistrate will adjudicate the matter. Ownership will pass to whomever has the best claim, based on the perceived authenticity of any will.
Further Reading
Core Brief
Additional Information