Morris v Morris

Subject Matter

PUBLIC POLICY — Administration of estates — Suicide — Claimant assisting terminally ill wife in travelling to assisted dying clinic in Switzerland — Wife accompanied to clinic by adult children and sister — Police finding no grounds for further investigation into claimant’s actions and no public interest in prosecution — Claimant’s assistance in wife’s suicide sufficient to engage forfeiture rule precluding acquisition of beneficial interest under wife’s will — Whether statutory modification of forfeiture rule appropriate — Whether actions of children and sister also engaging forfeiture rule — Approach to determining whether necessary parties joined to proceedings in assisted dying cases — Forfeiture Act 1982 (c 34), s 2(1)(2) — Suicide Act 1961 (9 & 10 Eliz 2, c 60), s 2(1)

[2024] EWHC 2554 (Ch); [2024] 4 WLR 84; [2024] WLR(D) 438, Ch D

Commentary

UK Human Rights Blog
Husband who escorted his wife to Switzerland not denied access to her estate under Forfeiture Rule Case comment