Ministers are considering a landmark change in the law in a bid to end “predatory marriage” that sees vulnerable older people “groomed” and exploited by those seeking to inherit their estate.
The phenomenon of predatory marriage is thought by experts to be on the rise, prompting calls for a major change in nearly 200 year-old legislation that states that people’s wills – a legal document setting out how they want their inheritance divided – are revoked upon marriage.
Labour MP Fabian Hamilton, who is leading a campaign to change the law, highlighted the case of Joan Blass, a 91 year-old woman with dementia who was “secretly wed” to a younger man who married her without the knowledge of her family.
She did not make a new will, meaning her new husband was entitled to most or all of her estate under intestacy laws, that she was “stripped of all her assets and money” and that she was buried in an unmarked grave, against her family’s wishes, according to Hamilton. However, Joan’s husband, has said he felt she did have capacity to marry him and described the relationship as “loving and caring.”
Justice Minister Sarah Sackman has said she is now giving “detailed consideration” to recommendations from the Law Commission that wills should not be automatically revoked upon marriage in a bid to stamp out the practice, acknowledging that the law is “outdated”.
Blass’s daughter Daphne Franks told The i Paper that changing the law, which has not changed since 1837, “would remove a lot of the incentive for predators” and warned that “many people” do not even know that wills are revoked upon marriage.
In a letter to Sackman, Hamilton said predatory marriage is one of the “most insidious, cruel examples of fraud” and urged the Government to act quickly to stamp it out.
The MP also said he had been contacted by a “significant number of people from across the country” making it “clear” that Blass’s case was “not an isolated incident”.
Hamilton said: “Given the decisive recommendations put forward by the Law Commission… it’s vital that the Government brings forward new legislation to ensure that more families do not have to suffer the pain and anguish experienced by so many others”.
Rachel Clawson, an associate professor at Nottingham University, said “it is impossible to know the prevalence of predatory and forced marriage because of its hidden nature and the control involved” but warned it is “known to be a growing problem from the rise in cases of contested wills”.
She went on: “Concerns are increasingly being raised about all forms of abuse and exploitation of older people, particularly those with cognitive impairment, for example dementia.
“Our research shows that predatory marriage – marrying someone for financial or other wealth gain – is associated with control and emotional, physical and financial abuse and often, the marriage only comes to light after it has taken place or after the death of victim.
“The capacity bar for marriage and wills is different – the test for marriage is lower than that for making a will, meaning that on the same day a person could have capacity to marry but not make a will.
“Our research demonstrates that older people are being groomed for marriage by people wanting to inherit their estate.”
Andrew Bishop, a partner at Rothley Law who has given Hamilton legal advice for his campaign, said: “The rule that marriage revokes a will dates back to 1837 and is considered outdated.
“It acts as an incentive to abuse the vulnerable, and is also not fit for purpose for modern families”.
As well as the Law Commission’s recommendation that marriage should not automatically revoke a will, Sackman said she would look at proposals to allow electronic wills to be legally valid, improving safeguards around the mental capacity of people making wills, and reducing the age of being able to make a will to 16, among other changes.
Sackman said: “As these recommendations illustrate, the reforms proposed by the Law Commission are significant and wide-ranging, they deserve detailed consideration.
“The Government recognises that the current law is outdated, and we must embrace change, but the guiding principle in doing so will be to ensure that reform does not compromise existing freedoms or protecting the elderly and vulnerable in society from undue influence.
“The Government will make further announcements in due course, once it has given the report the detailed consideration it deserves.”
