When most people get around to writing a Will, they think that’s that – their Will remains in place until they die. Not quite. As a general rule, if you marry (or form a civil partnership) your Will is automatically cancelled. Presumably this was put into place to prevent newly married couples from forgetting to change their Wills and leaving everything to a former partner, or a less deserving relative.
The Law Commission (England & Wales) have begun to look at this law, due to the rise of so called predatory marriages. Marriages between an unsuspecting vulnerable person, and someone seeking to take advantage of their vulnerability, have become known as ‘predatory’ and there’s evidence to suggest they are on the increase. The predator encourages the vulnerable person to marry them, which revokes their Will. When the vulnerable partner dies, the predator inherits all or part of their estate through intestacy (this leaves all or a significant share to their spouse). It is possible for a dependent to challenge a Will, but the procedure is complex and extremely expensive.
The real life story of Joan Blass, who allegedly entered into an predatory marriage whilst suffering from vascular dementia, is available at:
By: Dave Warren TEP
Photo-credit: cynoclub (iStock)
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