San Diego Journal of Climate & Energy Law
Abstract
Inheritance law, governing the transfer of assets and rights from generation to generation, is a cornerstone of legal systems worldwide, Inheritance law’s implications extend beyond wealth management and tax strategies. This Article addresses a neglected area of overlap: inheritance law and hazardous waste. Consider Sarah, a Southern California beneficiary whose narrative exemplifies that overlap, and her story of how inheritance law combines grief, liability, and opportunity….
Inheriting toxic land poses a legal challenge to a beneficiary’s ability to abandon property as a matter of law and policy. This raises the additional question of who should bear cleanup liability for an inherited or abandoned waste site. This Article concludes that legal and economic factors support imposing clean-up liability costs on the testator’s estate to reduce environmental harm, improve the public’s health, and comply with the congressional intent of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act.
Recommended Citation
Ashley Pyle,
A Toxic Inheritance: Addressing the Legal Implications of Inheriting Hazardous Waste Land,
16
San Diego J. Climate & Energy L.
113
(2025)
Available at:
https://digital.sandiego.edu/jcel/vol16/iss0/6
