Negotiating Children’s Inheritance in Contemporary Multiethnic Urban Indonesia: A Socio-Legal Study of Plural Distribution Practices
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32332/milrev.v5i2.11414Keywords:
Children’s Inheritance; Legal Pluralism; Socio-Legal Studies; Urban Migration.Abstract
Urbanization and migration are increasingly reshaping contemporary inheritance practices in multiethnic urban communities, particularly as families negotiate between customary norms, religious teachings, and changing socio-economic realities. This study examines how children’s Inheritance is distributed across urban communities with diverse ethnic backgrounds in Bandar Lampung and Metro Lampung, Indonesia. Using a socio-legal field research approach, primary data were collected through in-depth interviews with members of ethnic associations, religious leaders, and community elders. The findings reveal seven distinct inheritance distribution practices: male-dominated allocation, female-dominated allocation, equal division between sons and daughters, delayed inheritance distribution, the transfer of the eldest son’s share to other sons, prioritization of economically vulnerable children, and distribution based on the keprabon or yoso system. These diverse practices suggest that a single normative framework does not govern children's Inheritance; rather, it is shaped through ongoing social negotiation within plural legal and cultural contexts. The study further identifies five key factors influencing these practices: customary traditions, economic conditions, cultural indoctrination, geographical context, and religious understanding. This research contributes to socio-legal scholarship by conceptualizing Inheritance as a negotiated social institution in contemporary multiethnic urban settings and by highlighting how communities adapt inheritance norms in response to ongoing social change.
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