Woman who accompanied her husband to Dignitas will inherit his £1.8 million estate, judge rules in test case

Sarah Ninian, 63, travelled with her husband Alex, 84, to the famous Switzerland clinic in November 2017 after he was diagnosed with a progressive incurable disease and was unable to get there by himself.

Mrs Ninian, who was named as the sole beneficiary in her husband's will, could have been blocked access to his estate, worth an estimated £1.8 million, because of laws barring inheritance when a beneficiary has been involved in a person's "unlawful killing".

But at a High Court hearing today she successfully applied for the so-called "forfeiture rule" to be waived or modified in her case.

Solicitor Gary Rycroft, from Lancaster-based firm Joseph A. Jones & Co, told The Telegraph that it could be a test case which will lead to greater transparency when people accompany their relatives to suicide clinics but are not charged with any offences.

"It could reassure people that they can come forward and not worry that they will be cut out of their loved-ones' inheritance," he said.

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