Posthumous marriages and the importance of making a will

The recent posthumous marriage between Xavier Jugelé and Etienne Cardiles has caught the attention of many. Jugelé was killed in a terror attack in April earlier this year. He was shot whilst on duty as a police officer on the Champs-Élysées in Paris. He had been among the first responders to the attack on the Bataclan theatre in Paris in November 2015. A month after his death Jugelé’s partner Etienne Cardiles married him posthumously.

The concept of marrying someone who has died is intriguing. There are very few countries that allow it. The intention behind the practice seems to be to enable someone to complete the process of marriage in circumstances where the deceased had intended for the marriage to take place but died before it could be finalised. The practice is based on Art 171 of the French Civil Code which...