DMM (Alzheimer's : marriage : power of attorney ) [2017] EWCOP 33

In a previous judgment in which the court concluded there is a requirement that the person should be able to understand, retain, use and weigh information as to the reasonably foreseeable financial consequences of a marriage, including that the marriage would automatically revoke the person's will, the court ruled that the P had capacity to consent to marry his long term partner.

​The P suffered from Alzheimer's. He had been married before but was divorced. He had 3 daughters from this marriage. He had been living with his current partner for 20 years. His will provided that the 3 daughters would benefit substantially and the partner by around £300,000. The issue here was that the P wanted to marry his partner, which would automatically revoke the will, in turn resulting in a much more favourable split for the partner. The court ruled in a previous judgment (DMM (Alzheimer's : power of attorney) [2017] EWCOP 32) that there is a requirement that the person should be able to understand, retain, use and weigh information as to the reasonably foreseeable financial consequences of a marriage, including that the marriage would automatically revoke the person's will. Here the court had to decide if the P had capacity to consent to marry.

The court ruled that he did have capacity. An eminent consultant psychiatrist who specialises in old age​concluded that the P had the capacity to marry because he did understand his will would be revoked and the financial position of his 3 daughters would be effected by that and his marriage. 

Read the full text of the judgment on Bailii