Hereditament Definition:

Something which can be inherited.

Related Terms: Tenement, Tenendum, Heritage

Any property or right which is capable of being passed on by inheritance.

In his 1923 A Dictionary of English Law (London: Sweet & Maxwell, p. 443-444), W. J. Byrne describes the term as follows:

"'Whatsoever,' says Coke, 'may be inherited is an hereditament'.

"In other words, when a right is of such a nature that on the death of its owner intestate it descends to his heir, it is a hereditament."

In Robert Megarry's The Law of Real Property (London: Stevens & Sons, 1975, p. 12), the author states that:

"'Hereditement' indicates property which descended to the heir on intestacy."

Hereditaments are corporeal (tangible) and incorporeal (intangible).

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