Wiltshire, U.K.
Sisters can’t inherit: Two British sisters who have lived together all their lives have lost their battle to avoid paying inheritance tax when one of them dies. Joyce and Sybil Burden, ages 90 and 82, had asked the European Court to give them the same tax rights as married or gay couples. They own their home jointly, and when one dies, the other will be unable to pay the inheritance tax and will have to move out. But the court this week turned down the final appeal. “We are struggling to understand why two single sisters in their old age, whose only crime was to choose to stay single and look after their parents and aunts, should find themselves in such a position in the U.K. in the 21st century,” the Burdens said in a statement.
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