WillsS18 Wills Act 1837 – Intention to Marry

S18 of the Wills Act 1837 is a significant provision that addresses the impact of marriage on the validity of a will. Under this section, a will is generally revoked by a later marriage, although there are exceptions to this rule. This article will examine the provisions of S18 in detail.

What does S18 Provide?

The primary rule under S18 is that a will is revoked if the testator marries after making the will. This is based on the presumption that marriage changes the testator’s circumstances significantly enough to warrant a reconsideration of their arrangements.

The automatic revocation is subject to contrary intention in the will itself. S18(3) states:

“Where it appears from a will that at the time it was made the testator was expecting to be married to a particular person and that he intended that the will should not be revoked by the marriage, the will shall not be revoked by his marriage to that person”

A similar provision is also contained in the Wills Act relating to Civil Partnerships at S18B which is broadly the same terms.

There are several key points to pick out from the terms of S18.

Appears from the Will

The will must include wording to make it clear that the will should not be revoked by a later marriage. It is clearest that this be a specific clause in the will stating such. In the absence of a specific clause, the courts will look at the terms of the will to see if there is any other intention. There have been cases where a will giving the estate to ‘my fiancée X’ or ‘my future wife Y’ would be considered as sufficient, but it would be inadvisable to rely on this.

Particular Person

The will must state that the testator is expecting to marry a particular person. It is not possible therefore for a will to state that any marriage will not revoke the will. This was examined in the case of Court v Despallieres [2009] EWHC 3340 (Ch) where the will only contained a general statement that it was intended to survive marriage, civil partnership or adoption. That statement was not enough to satisfy the terms of the Wills Act and therefore a later civil partnership was considered as revoking the will.

Time Limit?

Whilst the Wills Act does not impose any time period, case law in this area suggests that the marriage does need to be within a reasonable amount of time from the date the will was signed to avoid the will being revoked by the marriage. This can vary from case to case depending on the facts of the case. For example:

• Re Gray’s Estate [1963]: A marriage 25 years after the will was signed did revoke the will.
• Pilot v Gainfort [1931]: Marriage 3 years after the will was signed did not revoke the will.

Other Planning

Although it is most common for a blanket statement to be included in a will stating that the will shall not be revoked by a particular marriage, it is possible for more complex planning to be completed. Below are a few examples.

The will could state that certain provisions of the will are not revoked by marriage, but other provisions are revoked should the marriage take place.

The will could include conditions on the intention to marry clause, for example a time frame for the marriage to take place to avoid it revoking the will.

Exceptions

A void marriage does not revoke a will, as that marriage is considered as never having taken place. A voidable marriage however does still revoke a will, even if it is later annulled. Additionally, the conversion of a civil partnership into a marriage does not revoke a will.

Conclusion

S18 of the Wills Act 1837 plays a crucial role in ensuring that a testator’s will accurately reflects their intentions in light of significant life changes, such as marriage. By automatically revoking a will upon marriage, unless specific provisions are made, the law seeks to protect the interests of both the testator and potential beneficiaries. This highlights the importance of estate planning, the need for testators to explicitly state their intentions regarding marriage within their wills and the need for existing wills to be reviewed when marriage occurs.

 

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