Simon's Story

Simon was a 28-year-old man with a brain injury who wanted to marry his girlfriend of 3 years. He was very wealthy, following a large compensation payment after he lost a leg at work. The court was asked to decide if Simon had capacity to marry as this decision could have financial consequences if he was to get divorced.

The court said capacity to marry does not require a high level of understanding and it doesn’t matter whether the marriage is a good idea. Simon needed to understand the duties and responsibility associated with marriage and have the capacity to consent to sex.

Simon did not need to understand the full financial laws and procedures involved in divorce but needed to understand that it could involve a financial claim (although it would be limited because most of Simon’s wealth came from his compensation payment so likely wouldn’t be split). The judge decided that Simon understood this and had the capacity to marry.

(Mundell v Name 1, 2019)