Forfeiture
| Author | Nasreen Pearce |
| Pages | 127-138 |
Chapter 5
Forfeiture
5.1 INTRODUCTION
The forfeiture rule is a common law rule of public policy which, in certain
circumstances, precludes a person who has unlawfully killed another from
acquiring a benefit in consequence of the killing. It applies to succession under
wills and intestacy.
Such an offender may not take any benefit which would otherwise accrue to them
under a disposition made in the victim’s will, or on the victim’s intestacy. Th e
whole of any disposition in favour of the offender fails. The offender and their
successors in title are prevented from acquiring any benefit under any disposition
made by the deceased in their will or under the laws of intestacy. The forfeiture
rule does not apply to the interest of a discretionary beneficiary under a lifetime
trust settled by the beneficiary’s victim, who was th e ultimate beneficiary of
the trust (see Henderson v Wilcox [2015] EWHC 3269 (Ch); and see, further,
para 5.6). Thus where the offender is the only child of the victim, their inheritance
goes to other relatives. All descendants of the offender are excluded, for example
the offender’s child and the grandchild of the victim, as occurred in Re DWS
(Deceased)[2001] Ch 568, CA, where a person killed both his parents, neither of
whom left a will. The offender was not allowed to inherit from them by reason of
the forfeiture rule. The Court of Appeal decided that not only he, but also his son,
was excluded from inheriting and the deceased’s estate passed to other relatives.
This consequence was rectified by the Estates of Deceased Persons (Forfeiture
Rule and Law of Succession) Act 2011, which came into force on 1 February
2012. This Act now provides that, irrespective of whether the deceased died
testate or intestate, the unlawful killer is deemed to have died immediately before
the deceased. This means that as from 1 February 2012: (1) where an intestacy
arises, the issue (including the children of the unlawful killer), will be able to
inherit under the intestacy rules; and (2) where the deceased made a will, the
person next entitled to the property in place of the unlawful killer will be able to
inherit, unless a contrary intention is expressed.
Get this document and AI-powered insights with a free trial of vLex and Vincent AI
Get Started for FreeStart Your 3-day Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your 3-day Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your 3-day Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your 3-day Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your 3-day Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting