Well I Never!

@WorDazza (15830)

Manchester, England

January 25, 2021 3:48pm CST

Today I learnt something new and I'm not sure I really wanted to. It sneaked up on me while I was watching a quiz show. Just thrust its way into my sitting room without so much as a by your leave. Maybe the fact itself isn't particularly bad. Maybe it's more about the way my mind just picks things up and runs with them! Apparently, in France, under certain circumstances it is perfectly legal to marry a dead person provided you can prove the deceased had intended to marry you. I can only hope that French marital law isn't the same as British marital law in that a marriage isn't considered legal until it's been consummated!

15 people like this

10 responses

@Fleura (29266)

• United Kingdom

25 Jan 21

I can imagine some people would go to great lengths to claim an inheritance.

5 people like this

@WorDazza (15830)

• Manchester, England

25 Jan 21

Even I wouldn't go that far!! Unless it was a seven figure sum!!! The really strange thing about it is one of the stipulations is that you can't inherit from the deceased.

3 people like this

@WorDazza (15830)

• Manchester, England

25 Jan 21

@Fleura Yeah, if you marry them after they die you can't inherit. Apparently it gets used to legitimise off-spring. Although if you can't inherit then I'm not sure what practical difference that actually makes.

3 people like this

@WorDazza (15830)

• Manchester, England

25 Jan 21

@Fleura Possibly. But if someone didn't want their illegitimate offspring to inherit then it could be difficult to prove that they intended to marry the illegitmate offspring's mother thus meaning the marriage wouldn't be allowed.

2 people like this

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@jaboUK (64360)

• United Kingdom

25 Jan 21

I saw that on the Chase too - incredible.

5 people like this

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@jaboUK (64360)

• United Kingdom

25 Jan 21

@WorDazza I didn't get it right but i forget what the other options were now.

4 people like this

@WorDazza (15830)

• Manchester, England

25 Jan 21

@jaboUK Italy was one of them. Not sure if Switzerland was the other.

4 people like this

@WorDazza (15830)

• Manchester, England

25 Jan 21

The thing is, I didn't have a clue but I got it right. I just knew it would have to be France

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@marlina (154165)

• Canada

25 Jan 21

Hard to believe!

4 people like this

@WorDazza (15830)

• Manchester, England

25 Jan 21

I was eating at the time. I nearly choked!

2 people like this

@MALUSE (69388)

• Germany

25 Jan 21

@WorDazza @jaboUK I think marrying a deceased person may be allowed to make children who were born out of wedlock legal so that they can inherit.

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@Fleura (29266)

• United Kingdom

25 Jan 21

@WorDazza nowadays maybe, but perhaps that law dates from older times. And what if a person includes only their legitimate heirs in their will? I suspect that if an illegitimate child contested a will these days they would win, but that is quite a recent development I think.

3 people like this

@WorDazza (15830)

• Manchester, England

25 Jan 21

@Fleura Originated in the 1950s purely for emotional reasons. I suspect at some point a lawyer saw the opportunity for illegitimate children to inherit.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posthumous_marriage_in_France#Inheritance

en.wikipedia.org

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posthumous_marriage_in_France#Inheritance

2 people like this

@WorDazza (15830)

• Manchester, England

25 Jan 21

From what I've read the spouse can't inherit but it makes no mention of whether any children legitimised by the marriage can inherit. I'm surprised anyone would have to go through that sort of thing to allow their children to inherit. I'm sure, in the UK, in the absence of a will the children would automatically inherit even if they were born out of wedlock.

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@DianneN (247205)

• United States

25 Jan 21

Oh, those French!

4 people like this

@WorDazza (15830)

• Manchester, England

25 Jan 21

Can't possibly comment. I would hate anything to be misconstrued as xenophobic

4 people like this

@DianneN (247205)

• United States

25 Jan 21

3 people like this

@JudyEv (328094)

• Rockingham, Australia

26 Jan 21

The mind boggles!

3 people like this

@WorDazza (15830)

• Manchester, England

26 Jan 21

Indeed. And some of the comments are making mine boggle a bit further

2 people like this

@much2say (54011)

• Los Angeles, California

26 Jan 21

Wow, would anyone actually do that? I can't even imagine that honeymoon

.

2 people like this

@WorDazza (15830)

• Manchester, England

26 Jan 21

It wouldn't be particular lively that's for sure.

2 people like this

@much2say (54011)

• Los Angeles, California

28 Jan 21

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@wolfgirl569 (97301)

• Marion, Ohio

26 Jan 21

I hope that part dont need to be done.

2 people like this

@WorDazza (15830)

• Manchester, England

26 Jan 21

Might be tricky if the deceased was cremated!

2 people like this

@JESSY3236 (19146)

• United States

26 Jan 21

wow.

1 person likes this

@WorDazza (15830)

• Manchester, England

26 Jan 21

My first reaction too.

1 person likes this

@Hannihar (129980)

• Israel

26 Jan 21

@WorDazza That is a very weird fact you learned.

1 person likes this

@WorDazza (15830)

• Manchester, England

26 Jan 21

I thought so too but it seems from the comments some people were aware of it already.

1 person likes this

@WorDazza (15830)

• Manchester, England

26 Jan 21

1 person likes this

@Hannihar (129980)

• Israel

26 Jan 21

@WorDazza That could be that they saw it somewhere else is how they knew about it before.

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