How do the courts treat a deceased's assets in cases of suicide? Alexa Payet & John Critchley examine three cases
- Under the forfeiture rule, a person ought not to profit from their own wrong, so a person who unlawfully kills another is by virtue of the rule precluded from inheriting the estate of the deceased.
- David Peace’s friend Tim travelled with him to Dignitas. Mr Peace also left his flat to Tim in his will. In David Peace (unreported) (2025), the court concluded that the executor could lawfully distribute the estate in the manner requested by the beneficiaries.
Social attitudes towards suicide have changed over time and are complex. The same is true of the legal architecture surrounding suicide. Further law reform concerning suicide is currently under consideration in Parliament, and the national political, moral and legal debate is hotly contested with the ultimate outcome uncertain.
Section 1 of the Suicide Act 1961 abolished the crime of suicide but, arguably paradoxically, provided by s 2 that
