Estate Planning: The "predatory Marriage" Loophole

Published date18 October 2021
Subject MatterFamily and Matrimonial, Wills/ Intestacy/ Estate Planning
Law FirmWinckworth Sherwood
AuthorMs Florence Smart and Tim Snaith

Notwithstanding the various protections that exist for the elderly against those eager to benefit financially after their death, a concerning fault in that defence is emerging: predatory marriage.

When you marry, under English and Welsh law, any will made before the date of the marriage is automatically revoked (unless the will was made in expectation of that marriage). Typically, a new will can of course be put in place, but this requires the individual in question to have the mental capacity to do so.

Where a new will is not put in place the "intestacy rules" will apply to your estate in the event of your death. The rules are complex and depend heavily on the facts but, in short, they grant the majority, if not all, of your estate to your surviving spouse, however short the marriage.

It is important to note at this stage that a much higher level of mental capacity is required to enter a new will, than is required to marry. In the context of an aging population, where it is thought that 850,000 people are living with dementia in the UK, these rules create a window of opportunity for predatory individuals.

To illustrate the danger of this loophole, consider this fictional, but not inconceivable example. An elderly female dementia-sufferer meets a new, younger, male friend. The elderly woman has a will in place (benefitting her daughter and son) and her daughter has a lasting power of attorney over her mother's finances. From the family's perspective, therefore, there is perhaps little cause for concern, providing that their mother remains happy and well cared for.

However, following the death of their mother, the family learn that she had been secretly married to her male friend at a registry office two months earlier. The result: their mother's will is revoked and the...

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