Validity of Sirius' Will (was: Re: No sympathy for Kreacher)

[bleckybecs]

No: HPFGUIDX 124544


> I've seen several people post the idea that Sirius' will 
(assuming, 
> of course, that he had one) would become a legal document should 
he 
> be pardoned posthumously.  Is there a provision in British law 
that 
> voids the wills of convicted murderers?  At least under American 
law 
> (and I should qualify that to be just New York State law, because 
> that's the only state where I'm admitted to practice), I can't see 
> any legal reason (under the circumstances presented by JKR) why 
the 
> will of a convicted murderer would be void. 
 
--loads of snipping--

Toni (who apologizes...one hazard of being an attorney is that you 
> see everything as a law school hypothetical!)

Becky:

I don't claim to know much about English law (especially as English 
law is quite often different in detail to the laws back home on the 
Isle Of Man), and I'm certainly not an attorney.

However, the instant that springs to mind is that of Mira Hindley 
(infamous 'moors murderer', or, at the very least, assistant to 
the 'moors murderer'). Dispite all that she had done, her wish to 
have her ashes scattered on the moors, where she had done awful 
things to young children before helping murder them, was done. I 
distinctly remember the photos in the paper and the outrage it 
caused among the victims families.

So it would seem that your will and wishes are respected, whatever 
you are convicted of having done.

Of course, like I said, I don't know for certain, but certainly in 
this instance, that's how it would appear.

Becky