How the surviving spouse is treated in our legal system

Diccon Mellors
Hugh James

I expect I am not alone but until recently I was unaware of International Widows’ Day. This annual initiative seeks to raise awareness of the situation faced by countless people worldwide who can face huge financial uncertainty (most often women) upon the death of their spouse, as well as what the UN describes as 'denial of inheritance and land rights… and other forms of widow abuse'.

This made me think about how our own legal system treats a widow or widower on the death of their loved one, and whether they are fairly treated by the law at such a difficult time.

The law treats married couples and couples in a civil partnership equally. Any reference below to a ‘spouse’ therefore can be read to include people who are civilly partnered.

Read the full article here.