Where There Is A Will, There Is A Claim

Imagine living with your partner for more than a decade, only to discover that under Bermuda law, you have no automatic right to their estate if they die without a will.

That is because couples who have a common-law marriage cannot apply for financial provision under the Succession Act 1974's intestacy rules.

Bermuda's intestacy regime allows only a spouse, former spouse who has not remarried, child or grandchild who was being maintained by the deceased, to make an application. Cohabitees, even after years together, are simply not included.

This stands in stark contrast to the United Kingdom's Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, as expanded by the Law Reform (Succession) Act 1995, that allows long-term partners living "as if that person and the deceased were a married couple or civil partners" for at least two years to seek provision from the deceased estate.