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Bill to reform law on effect of divorce or dissolution on a will

A Scottish Government Bill to reform succession laws, including the effects of divorce, dissolution or annulment on a will, has been introduced into the Scottish Parliament.

The Minister for Community Safety and Legal Affairs, Paul Wheelhouse welcomed the Succession (Scotland) Bill, which will implement a number of recommendations from the Scottish Law Commission Report on Succession published in 2009.

The proposed reforms also include:

• Establishing a process for the rectification of a will in certain circumstances
• Reforming the law relating to revival of a revoked will
• Making changes to how survivorship should operate in Scotland where there is uncertainty as to the order of death
• Reforming the law relating to forfeiture
• Closing a number of jurisdictional gaps to ensure that Scottish courts have jurisdiction where the applicable law is Scots law.

The law of succession regulates how property passes on a person’s death. The aim of the Bill is to make the law on succession fairer, clearer and more consistent through a targeted package of measures modernising some technical aspects of the law relating to succession in Scotland and addressing a number of anomalies within the current legislative framework.

Mr Wheelhouse said:

“The law of succession affects society as a whole in Scotland and this Bill will make sure it is up to date, fairer, clearer and more consistent.

“Dealing with the death of a loved one is clearly a distressing and emotional time within any family and it is important that the law is modernised to make dealing with succession issues as easy and straightforward as possible for individuals and families.”

Notes To Editors

This will be the second Bill to be considered for the new Parliamentary process implementing Scottish Law Commission Reports.

The Commission’s 2009 recommendations also cover a fundamental overhaul of the law of succession in Scotland. Consideration of the Commission recommendation for more substantive reform will be taken forward separately from the largely technical changes in the Succession (Scotland) Bill and a Scottish Government consultation paper on the Commission’s proposals will be published shortly.

That paper will seek views on how an estate should be distributed where there is no will; whether a spouse or civil partner and children should have a right to claim part of the estate even if any will does not provide for them; and what protections should be in place for cohabitants. Underpinning the Scottish Law Commission’s more fundamental recommendations for changes in the law of Succession is the principle that rights in succession should no longer depend on the type of property in an estate but will be able to be claimed from the whole estate.