Hunter’s Exots Petrs 1992 SLT 1141

Citation: Hunter’s Exots Petrs 1992 SLT 1141

Link to case on WorldLII (reference).

Rule of thumb 1: If a person murders a family member, are they entitled to anything in the will? No, they are not.

Rule of thumb 2: Is succession law the same in England & Scotland? As a general rule succession law in Scotland & England is the same, albeit there will be exceptions to this for when it is not.

Judgment:

The basic facts of this case were a woman wrote a will leaving all her possessions & estate to her husband, failing which her children. The husband was then found to have murdered the wife. The Court held that in this scenario the husband is not entitled to the estate and that the woman is to be declared to have died intestate, ‘The general rule on public policy on this branch of the law is the same in England as in Scotland, and should be applied in the same way in each jurisdiction...’, Lord Justice Clerk Ross

‘We agree with counsel for the heirs on intestacy that such a rule of public policy should be carried no further than is necessary to achieve its object. In our opinion whilst considerations of public policy lead to the right of Andrew Hunter being forfeited, there is no consideration of public policy which would support the deceased’s estate being then distributed as if Andrew Hunter had died.’

Warning: This is not professional legal advice. This is not professional legal education advice. Please obtain professional guidance before embarking on any legal course of action. This is just an interpretation of a Judgment by persons of legal insight & varying levels of legal specialism, experience & expertise. Please read the Judgment yourself and form your own interpretation of it with professional assistance.