Safeguards Against Predatory Marriages
Timms Wills and Probate Solicitor, Keith Baldock-Grimes discusses safeguards against predatory marriages in his latest blog.
A recent article in the Law Society Gazette states that Solicitors for the Elderly have seen a steady 13% rise in predatory marriages.
With an ageing and increasingly lonely population, the problem of predatory marriage is on the rise.
What Is A Predatory Marriage?
A predatory marriage is defined as somebody coercing another into marriage purely to inherit their estate. Predatory marriages take many forms, these include, Carers marrying elderly patients, elderly spinsters and bachelors being romanced by a partner decades their junior, or perhaps just a happy but naïve friend meeting their dream partner.
What Happens To A Will In Predatory Marriage?
Sadly many people are unaware that entering into a marriage will revoke any Will you may have previously made.
The contents of your old Will and any wishes that came with it are immediately replaced with the rules of intestacy. Generally, these rules mean that the bulk, if not all, of your money and possessions will pass to your new spouse upon your death.
Of course, this may not be a problem if you are happy for your estate to pass this way, or if you make a new Will after the marriage that confirms your previous wishes. To the unaware or vulnerable however, this could have devastating unintended effects on their assets after they die.
This situation is unfortunately becoming increasingly exploited by unscrupulous persons looking to marry into an inheritance.
Marrying for money is nothing new and often it clearly won’t be the law’s place to get involved. It is often not obvious when a predatory marriage has taken place. This begs the question, what can the law do to prevent a predator from marrying simply to exploit a vulnerable target, someone lacking mental capacity or someone that can otherwise be unfairly influenced?
Does The Law Help Victims Of Predatory Marriage?
The law is currently not a great help to victims. Under the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, a marriage is not automatically null and void just because one party lacked mental capacity or had been clearly unduly influenced into entering the marriage.
Instead, the marriage is only ‘voidable’ meaning one must make a court application to have the marriage set aside. Even if it is then set aside, their previous Will remains revoked.
The issue is made even worse by the fact that once a party has died, their marriage can no longer be set aside for any reason. Regardless of how obviously predatory it may have been.
Because of this, it is incredibly important and time critical to identify a predatory marriage and take steps to help the victim. Predators are wise to this and will often try to marry their victim in secret. This could be by marrying them abroad, to avoid family members and friends taking steps to prevent it. Children and other beneficiaries may not realise they have lost their inheritance, until after the victim has passed.
What To Do If Someone You Know Has Entered Into A Predatory Marriage?
Anyone who has entered into such a marriage should be encouraged to have it annulled. If they lack capacity, then it is possible to apply to the Court of Protection for an Order to do so.
If they do have capacity, then they should also be encouraged to make a new Will. This is because the marriage will have revoked any previous Will which was in place. They should also consider appointing an attorney to act in their best interests.
If they don’t have capacity it is still possible to apply to the Court of Protection for a statutory Will to be made. If you suspect that a loved one is a victim of a predatory marriage take specialist advice as soon as possible.
For further information regarding this article please contact me on 01283 214231 or via email at k.baldock-grimes@timms-law.com.
October 2021