In recent years there has been increasing interest in clarifying the respective interests of shareholders and participating policyholders in the inherited estate of the proprietary life offices. This paper defines the inherited estate, considers the sources of surplus contributing to it and suggests an approach for quantifying it. Views are expressed on the attribution of the inherited estate to the parties involved with a view to a consensus emerging from a discussion of the underlying factors. The role of the supervisory authorities and of the Appointed Actuary and the independent actuary are considered and methods of accessing the inherited estate attributed to shareholders are examined.