In the recent case of Scarle v Scarle [2019] EWHC 2224 (ch), a couple, Mr and Mrs Scarle were both found dead as a result of hypothermia. Both had children from previous marriages and there was a dispute over who would inherit the couple’s joint assets and the outcome depended entirely on who had died first.

The joint estate was due to pass to the survivor on the first death and then in accordance with the survivor’s Will or the intestacy rules. Mrs Scarle’s daughter sought to rely on the commorientes rule in s.84 Law of Property Act 1925 which states that, in circumstances where the sequence of death is uncertain, the pres...