Penn Chambers Solicitors | Vulnerable People Making Wills & Predatory Marriage

You may have heard about the story of Joan? If you have not, please read. It could be you, your parents, grandparents or someone else you know next…

We were asked to comment on a Will Aid article on the topic recently, and it is more apparent than ever that a change is needed.

New research shows a clear public call for reform of inheritance laws to protect vulnerable people, particularly where so-called predatory marriages can undo carefully made wills and leave loved ones exposed.

What is a Predatory Marriage?

Predatory marriage is not a legal term, but it describes a worrying pattern where someone marries a vulnerable person, often due to age, illness or cognitive impairment, for financial gain.

Under the current law, if someone makes a will and then marries, their existing will is automatically revoked.

Unless a new will is prepared, their estate is distributed according to the intestacy rules, a situation that can benefit a new spouse over intended beneficiaries without ever reflecting the deceased’s true wishes.

There are many occasions whereby the marriage is hidden until the death of the vulnerable person.

A marriage can wipe out a carefully prepared will overnight, often to the shock of families who assumed the will would stand. This creates real safeguarding concerns for vulnerable adults, particularly where capacity and understanding are in question.

Wills Act 1837 review

There is growing support for reform so that marriage does not automatically revoke an existing will, proposals echoed in the Law Commission’s Weddings Report and its ongoing review of the Wills Act 1837.

Law Reform

The polling also highlights confusion around mental capacity law. The legal threshold for entering into a marriage is lower than the test for making a valid will, meaning someone could have the capacity to marry but not to prepare a valid will. This disparity increases the risk of disputes and challenges after death.

Unifying the tests for capacity and providing clear practitioner guidance would help reduce contested estates and ensure that vulnerable clients’ true wishes are protected.

The findings further show strong public support for formal guidance for solicitors on mental capacity assessments - something currently lacking in statute but increasingly seen as essential in practice.

Families need access to early legal advice and a system that protects vulnerable people’s estate-planning intentions. These reforms would modernise outdated law and better safeguard those at risk.

Please contact us at Penn Chambers Solicitors to draft a will, update it, or for a review.

Emma Aslett

Penn Chambers Solicitors   

0207 183 4595

The information provided in this article is not intended to constitute professional advice and you should take full and comprehensive legal, accountancy or financial advice as appropriate on your individual circumstances by a fully qualified Solicitor, Accountant or Financial Advisor/Mortgage Broker before you embark on any course of action.