Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has made an assessment of whether the automatic revocation of wills upon marriage provides a potential incentive for predatory marriage.
The principle in English and Welsh law that marriage has the effect of revoking wills is long established. The issue of whether marriage or civil partnership should invoke automatic revocation of the wills of those involved is being considered as part of a wider current review by the Law Commission on reforming the law of wills.
That review is also examining whether there should be new rules introduced which protect the person making the will from undue influence.
The Government will review the case for reforming the current law when it has received the recommendations in the Law Commission’s final report.