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The topic of assisted dying is currently in the public spotlight with extensive press coverage of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill. The area is legally complex, widely misunderstood, and its treatment varies across different jurisdictions.
This article is the third in a series exploring assisted suicide and its legal consequences. Read our previous articles here: Assisted Dying and Relief from Forfeiture.
What is ‘forfeiture’ in an assisted dying context?
We explored ‘forfeiture’ more generally in our article Assisted dying: what is relief from forfeiture?.
It is often overlooked that assisting a suicide raises important civil law issues which can have significant financial consequences. This means that anyone who assists or encourages another person to commit suicide will forfeit (effectively ‘give up’) their interest in their loved one’s estate pursuant to the Forfeiture Act 1982 (Forfeiture Act).
What are the practical implications?
Anyone who assists another to commit suicide is treated as having predeceased them. The consequences can be far-reaching.
The more commonly understood impact is that the assister will be unable to benefit from the estate in question. They will be unable to receive any gifts left to them under a Will or on intestacy, and they will be excluded from benefit.
The lesser appreciated impact is in respect of jointly held assets, the ownership of which will be treated as severed if the Forfeiture Act applies.
It is common for spouses to combine their marital wealth by owning their home as joint tenants and holding joint bank accounts, both of which usually pass by survivorship. The Forfeiture Act will treat these interests as severed and the surviving spouse will be prevented from receiving the portion attributed to their spouse.
An ‘assisting’ spouse can therefore (often unexpectedly) be left to face the difficult circumstances of having to provide for themselves with access to significantly less resources than anticipated. This could also include the loss of pension and life policy income which falls within the scope of the Forfeiture Act.
In already unimaginably difficult circumstances, there are significant practical hurdles to navigate including: the loss of security of the family home, limited access to day‑to‑day funds and alternative or unintended beneficiaries consequently inheriting family wealth.
What can I do to avoid the consequences of the Forfeiture Act?
The Forfeiture Act provides the Court with the discretion to modify or relieve the assister from the impact of the forfeiture rule. In recently reported decisions, forfeiture has been granted where the assistance is motivated by love and compassion.
A carefully prepared Court application will be required after the assisted suicide has taken place and each case will be carefully and individually considered on its own merits. If successful and at its simplest, the applicant should then be able to benefit from the deceased’s estate in the usual way.
There is currently no alternative to the process of formally applying for relief for an assister, but the subject matter remains an academically debated point amongst practitioners, and we anticipate this may evolve with the Court’s input over time.
The Forfeiture Act does not prevent an assister from bringing a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 for reasonable financial provision. Whilst this does not result in relief from forfeiture, it may enable the parties involved and/or the Court to make financial provision for the assister from the deceased’s estate. In some cases, this may be a viable alternative.
If you would like advice on how these issues may affect you or your family, please contact Jasmine Ivory to sensitively discuss your circumstances.