Guernsey has announced that its Law Reform (Inheritance and Miscellaneous Provisions) law, passed in 2006, will come into force on 7 May 2008.

The new law makes five significant changes: most importantly, it removes discrimination against illegitimate children in inheritance and introduces a scheme of administration of inherited real property where ownership is uncertain.

It also makes reforms to the formalities for making wills, reduces the period during which claims can be made against the owners of real property which has been acquired from heirs and abolishes the archaic retrait lignager which enabled certain blood relatives of the seller of real property to bring proceedings against the purchaser within one month of the sale on payment of compensation.