Social:Predatory marriage
Predatory marriage is the practice of marrying an elderly person exclusively for the purpose of gaining access to their estate upon their death.[1] While the requirements for mental capacity to make a valid will are high, in most jurisdictions the requirements for entering into a valid marriage are much lower; even a person suffering dementia may enter into marriage. In many jurisdictions, a marriage arrangement will invalidate any previous will left by the person, resulting in the spouse inheriting the estate.[1]
In the United Kingdom a campaign[2] was started to change laws and procedures around marriage to reduce this practice, supported by lawyer Sarah Young[3] of Ridley and Hall[4][5]. The local MP, Fabian Hamilton MP, introduced a bill in Parliament during 2018 entitled the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Consent) Bill[6], to establish that marriage should no longer always revoke a previous will and have introduced other protections against predatory marriage.[7] The bill was passed but ran out of parliamentary time, but work is continuing.
See also
- Elder financial abuse
- Sham marriage
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 What You Need To Know About Predatory Marriages, Huffington Post Canada, 30 May 2017
- ↑ "Justice for Joan || Home". https://www.justiceforjoan.com/.
- ↑ "Sarah Young" (in en-GB). https://www.ridleyhall.co.uk/profiles/young/.
- ↑ "Predatory Marriages; Elder Financial Abuse" (in en-GB). 2018-06-21. https://www.ridleyhall.co.uk/predatory-marriages-elder-financial-abuse/.
- ↑ "Predatory Marriage – Campaign for Change in the Law" (in en-GB). 2018-11-21. https://www.ridleyhall.co.uk/predatory-marriage-campaign-for-change-in-the-law/.
- ↑ "Marriage and Civil Partnership (Consent) - Hansard". https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2018-11-21/debates/8D523D49-AB41-475B-B855-133B01DB2CD4/MarriageAndCivilPartnership(Consent)?highlight=predatory%20marriage#contribution-170B0967-EEB8-42D0-8D43-9ED6A58C4EAD.
- ↑ World News Empire, MP calls for 'predatory marriage' law change published 21 November 2018, accessed 31 October 2019
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