Board Thread:Questions and Answers/@comment-5239435-20130206201307/@comment-5398287-20130222064839

...I'm not sure you understand how Zanpakuto work. Each Zanpakuto is unique to its wielder. You can't inherit a Zanpakuto from a dead Shinigami because once they die, the spirit of that blade dies as well; all that remains is the sword. On top of that, you can't communicate with the spirit of a Zanpakuto which doesn't belong to you. So no, there is no process of determining who is "worthy" of wielding a dead Shinigami's Zanpakuto because there is no point in doing so.