A large part of the American legal system is based on the private ownership of property. In medieval times, the death of the owner of property was a signal for any interested person to assert a claim of ownership, however tenuous. This system often degenerated into contests of physical superiority and was eventually replaced with our modern system of wills and probate. This field of the law seeks to ensure that the disposition of property after death is orderly and in accordance with the wishes of the testator.