In the recent past, the reassessment of the transmission situation with regard to Shakespeare's AKing LearA has spawned numerous single editions of the various versions of the play. Proceeding from a discussion of the transmission problems, the editorial history, and present-day editorial practice, the study undertakes a comprehensive reconception of the methodological foundations of version editing in connection with AKing LearA. The discussion of the theoretical editing problems involved produces an outline for a hypermedia edition that departs from traditional norms in its design of reader text, navigation structure, and reference system. An integral part of the study is an electronic component accessible on the internet (www.niemeyer.de/links/link_material.html), which illustrates the editorial and media-theoretical premises with reference to a newly edited portion of the text.

Wealth can be transferred on death in a number of different ways, most commonly by will. Yet a person can also use a variety of other means to benefit someone on death. Examples include donationes mortis causa, joint tenancies, trusts, life-insurance contracts and nominations in pension and retirement plans. In the US, these modes of transfer are grouped under the category of 'will-substitutes' and are generally treated as testamentary dispositions. Much has been written about the effect of the use of will-substitutes in the US, but little is generally known about developments in other jurisdictions. For the first time, this collection of contributions looks at will-substitutes from a comparative perspective. It examines mechanisms that pass wealth on death across a number of common law, civil law and mixed legal jurisdictions, and explores the rationale behind their use. It analyses them from different viewpoints, including those of owners of businesses, investors, as well as creditors, family members and dependants. The aims of the volume are to show the complexity and dynamics of wealth transfers on death across jurisdictions, to identify patterns between jurisdictions, and to report the attitudes towards the different modes of transfer in light of their utility and the potential frictions they give rise to with policies and principles underpinning current laws.