"Love capture" is a legal heresy, one should rather speak of the presence of passionate love from the beginning of a relationship.
A couple who have been living together for over four years decide to marry. A few weeks before the wedding, the man coincidentally meets a childhood friend and they rekindle their friendship. This friend even attends the wedding celebration.
Since the new husband works during the day and the reconnected friend works at night, the husband invites the friend to "take out his wife". Two months after the wedding, the husband discovers a passionate relationship between his wife and the childhood friend. Upon this discovery, the wife leaves the marital home and moves in with the friend.
The wife and husband proceed to divide their assets, sign a separation agreement, but do not initiate any divorce or legal separation procedures.
While the wife is enjoying her newfound love with her friend, health problems start to overshadow their happiness. Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, the wife learns that she also has breast cancer. The wife designates her friend as the beneficiary of her life insurance policies and the universal legatee in her notarized will. The friend remains by the wife's side during her last months of life, and their cohabitation as lovers continues for four years.
Some of the wife's relatives bring the case to court and request the annulment of the will on the grounds of "amorous manipulation". The judge concludes that "amorous manipulation" is a legal heresy, as the evidence instead reveals "the presence of passionate love from the beginning of their relationship" and rejects the plaintiffs' claims.
During this holiday season, where love often takes precedence over everyday life, be careful not to be accused of "amorous manipulation" and remember that moderation is always better in every aspect, even in love.
*CS 150-17-001066-056
