It is said sometimes that bequest is a "logical" result of private property, but the law does not treat it as such.

The right of bequest, or of gift at death, is limited in various ways in different countries.

In countries where hereditary aristocracies exist, primogeniture is in some cases required by law, in others so strongly favored by public opinion that it is practically always followed.

Custom limits bequests in England to members of the family, and wills given outside the family are rare, and are almost always broken in the courts.

John Stuart Mill contrasted this with the practice in America, frequent even in his day and still more frequent now, of rich men giving for public purposes.