Perittävällä

Perittävällä is a Finnish term used mainly in legal and genealogical contexts to refer to the assets, rights, or property that are to be inherited or bequeathed. It is the adessive singular form of the participle/adjective perittävä, which describes things that are meant to be transferred to heirs under a will or through statutory succession. The concept is tied to inheritance and the process of distributing an estate.

Etymology and meaning: The form derives from the root related to passing on or handing down, as in periyttää. In its use as perittävä (to-be-bequeathed or to-be-inherited), perittävällä marks the entity that will be, or is expected to be, the subject of inheritance. The term is most often encountered in formal texts such as wills, estate inventories, or judicial documents describing how an estate will be allocated among heirs or legatees.

Usage and context: Perittävällä omaisuudella or similar phrases designate the portion of the estate that is intended to pass to heirs or beneficiaries. It is common in discussions of kuolinpesä (deceased’s estate) and perinnönjako (distribution of the inheritance). In everyday language, speakers usually opt for simpler expressions like perintö (inheritance) or perittävä omaisuus without the adessive form.

Notes and nuances: The term can be confused with senses of perittävä that relate to charges or levies in other contexts, since Finnish has related roots such as periyttää and perittää. Context typically clarifies whether the reference is to inheritance or to something that must be paid or collected. See also perintö, perinnönjaot, perillinen, kuolinpesä.