Assisted Dying – Lord Faulkner’s Private Members Bill and the Forfeiture Act 1982

The ethical debate surrounding assisted suicide is long standing, complicated and immotive and particularly since Esther Ransom’s intervention, never far from the headlines. 

It is a serious offence to encourage or assist the suicide or attempted suicide of another person. This could include accompanying someone to Dignitas in Switzerland. The penalty can be up to 14 years’ imprisonment. 

A less frequently mentioned but connected issue is the impact of the forfeiture rule. Section 1(1) of the Forfeiture Act 1982 prevents anyone who has assisted someone in a suicide or attempted suicide from receiving an inheritance from their estate.

Currently there is a process by which relief from this rule can be obtained and in a number of cases the courts have exercised their discretion to permit the surviving partner to be relieved from forfeiting their inheritance. 

Nevertheless, the person accused of the offence has to go through a long, expensive legal process (with no certainty of success) to seek relief at a time when their financial position is far from certain.

Lord Faulkner’s private members Bill is intended to legalise assisted dying where terminally ill patients have been assessed as having less than 6 months to live. 

If enacted the bill will mean that assistance provided by another party to end a person’s life at their properly expressed request will not be unlawful. 

While forfeiture is not expressly mentioned in the Bill, it follows that if assisting dying in these circumstances becomes lawful the forfeiture rules should no longer apply to prevent a person obtaining the deceased’s inheritance.

For any questions you may have arising from this article, contact Lucy Gordon or call 01295 204000.

Lord Falconer’s Bill proposes that terminally ill, mentally competent adults should have the option of assisted dying alongside access to high-quality end-of-life care.

https://www.dignityindying.org.uk/news/assisted-dying-bill-to-be-introduced-in-house-of-lords-paving-the-way-for-law-change/