1 In 1998 1,332,000 elderly people were living on pensions with income support and 333,000 on income support only: Social Trends 30, May 2000, p. 142.

2 Cm. 4192-1.

3 Cm. 4192-1, xix, 6.38 et seq.

4 Joel Joffe and David Lipsey.

5 Cm. 4192-1, Note of Dissent, p. 113 et seq., 117-121, 139.

6 The NHS Plan: The Government's response to the Royal Commission on Long Term Care (Dept, of Health, Cm. 4818-11, July 2000), para. 2.3, Appendix, para. 1.

7 Cm. 4192-1, chapter 7.

8 In Wales the National Assembly will undertake this regulatory function.

9 Winston Churchill, radio broadcast, 1943.

10 Evidence presented to the Royal Commission on Long Term Care suggested that the public believed that long-term care should be funded totally by the state. This view, however, was based on scepticism about suggestions that the state could not afford to shoulder the burden and the view that resources should if necessary be diverted from other areas of expenditure so that the overall tax burden did not rise: Cm. 4192-II/1, Research Vol. 1, The Context of Long Term Care Policy, p. 242.

11 Social Trends 30 (May 2000), pp. 92-93.

12 Several studies on compulsory long-term care insurance are discussed in Cm. 4192-II/1, n. 10 above, chapters 2-4.

13 Cm. 4192-1, 5.13, 5.38.

14 The effect being that most subscribers are high-risk individuals, so premiums may rise to unaffordable levels.

15 Old Age Pensions Act 1908, s. 2.

16 Section 3(l)(b), (d), (2), (3).

17 Sections 62-66. “Relevant community order” is defined in section 62(8) to include: (a) a community service order; (b) a probation order; (c) a combination order; (d) such other description of community order within the meaning of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 as may be prescribed; or (e) any order falling in England and Wales to be treated as an order specified in (a)-(d).

18 Income and Wealth (Joseph Rowntree Foundation, 1995); Pensions: 2000 and Beyond (Retirement Income Inquiry, 1996).

19 Townsend, Peter and Davidson, Nick (eds.), Inequalities in Health—The Black Report, Whitehead, Margaret, The Health Divide (2nd ed., Penguin, 1992)Google Scholar. Most recently, see Goldblatt, Peter, “Inequalities in health—development and change”, Population Trends 100 (HMSO, 2000)Google Scholar.

20 See generally, Bradley, David, Family Law and Political Culture (Sweet & Maxwell, London, 1996)Google Scholar.

21 Bengtsson, T. and Fridlizius, G., “Public Intergenerational Transfers as an Old-Age Pension System: A Historical Interlude?” in Ermisch, John and Ogawa, Naohiro, The Family, The Market, and the State in Ageing Societies (Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1994), p. 198, 209-213Google Scholar.

22 Rawls, A Theory of Justice (O.U.P., 1973), chs. 11-14, 43.

23 For a discussion of policies of segregation and integration, see Tinker, , Older People in Modern Society (Longman, Harlow, 4th ed., 1997), pp. 258–259Google Scholar.

24 [1992] 1 A.C. 599.

25 Sir Matthew Hale, Pleas of the Crown, p. 629: “The husband cannot be guilty of rape committed by himself upon his lawful wife, for by their mutual matrimonial consent and contract the wife hath give up herself in this kind unto her husband which she cannot retract”.

26 National Assistance Act 1948, s. 62(3), Sch. 7.

27 Poor Law Act 1930, s. 14.

28 Married women with separate property were liable to the same extent as a feme sole: Married Women's Property Act 1908, s. 1; Poor Law Act 1930, s. 14(4).

29 The National Assistance Act 1948, s. 42, replaced the wider support obligation with a duty to support one's spouse and one's children.

30 Initially on a limited basis under the Old Age Pensions Act 1908. Graduated pensions were introduced in 1961 and in 1975 pensions became earnings related. See further, pp. 170-172, below.

31 Initially there was no requirement to give up work in order to draw a pension, so many simply drew their pension but did not retire. See Hannah, Leslie, Inventing Retirement (C.U.P., 1985)Google Scholar, ch. 9.

32 Ibid., pp. 134-136; Phillipson, Chris, “Changing work and retirement: older workers, discrimination and the labour market”, in Bernard, and Phillips, (eds.), The Social Policy of Old Age (C.P.A., London, 1998), 76Google Scholar.

33 See Finch, , Family Obligations and Social Change (Polity Press, Oxford, 1989), p. 58Google Scholar et seq.; Tinker, op. cit. n. 23, p. 194.

34 Price v. Price [1951] P. 413 (C.A.).

35 Re C. (A Minor) (Contribution Notice) [1994] 1 F.L.R. III, 116 per Ward J. As Ward J. pointed out, agency of necessity no longer exists (it was abolished by the Matrimonial Proceedings and Property Act 1970, s. 41). However, the court seems to have overlooked the possible use of agency from cohabitation (which applies to persons holding themselves out as husband and wife, regardless of whether or not they are married): see generally, Reynolds, Bowstead and Reynolds on Agency (Sweet and Maxwell, 16th ed., 1996), 3-040A-3-050.

36 A consequence of the doctrine of conjugal unity and consequent lack of legal capacity of married women.

37 Social Security Administration Act 1992, ss. 78(6), 105(3).

38 Northrop v. Northrop [1968] P. 74 (C.A.), 115-116 per Diplock L.J.

39 Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, s. 27(3).

40 National Assistance Act 1948, s. 43; Social Security Administration Act 1992, s. 106.

41 Mortimer v. Wright (1840) 6 M. & W. 482; Northrup v. Northrup [1968] P. 74, 116 per Diplock L.J.

42 National Assistance Act 1948, s. 42, Social Security Administration Act 1992, ss. 78(6), 105(3), Child Support Act 1991, s. 1, Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, s. 27, Domestic Proceedings and Magistrates’ Courts Act 1978, s. 1.

43 “Parent” is widely defined to include any party to a marriage (whether or not subsisting) in relation to whom the child concerned is a child of the family: Children Act 1989, Sch. 1, para. 16(2).

44 National Assistance Act 1948, s. 43, Social Security Administration Act 1992, ss. 106, 107.

45 Children Act 1989, Sch. 1, Family Proceedings Rules 1991, rule 2.54(f).

46 For details, see Lowe, & Douglas, , Bromley's Family Law (Butterworths, London, 9th ed., 1998), p. 746Google Scholar et, seq.

47 Defined in section 52(1) of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 to include “any other child, not being a child who is placed with those parties as foster parents by a local authority or voluntary organisation, who has been treated by both of those parties as a child of the family”. On the additional factors the court is to take into account, see Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, s. 25(4).

48 Child Support Act 1991, s. 1. The duty is discharged by making payments as may be determined in accordance with the provisions of the Act.

49 Child Support Act 1991, s. 11, Sch. 1.

50 Section 1(3), Sch. 1, substituting Part I of Sch. I to the Child Support Act 1991. The 2000 Act also replaces the old terminology of “absent” parent with the new and less pejorative “non-resident” parent.

51 Child Support Act 1991, s. 12.

52 Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, s. 27; Domestic Proceedings and Magistrates’ Courts Act 1978, s. 1. Orders for financial relief for children (including property transfers and lump sum orders) may be made under the Children Act 1989, Sch. 1, although that Act does not expressly reiterate the duty to maintain.

53 Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, s. 25; Domestic Proceedings and Magistrates’ Courts Act 1978, s. 3; Children Act 1989, Sch. 1, para. 4.

54 Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, s. 27(5); Child Support Act 1991, s. 12.

55 Child Support Act 1991, s. 55.

56 Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, s. 29(1), (3); Domestic Proceedings and Magistrates’ Courts Act 1978, s. 5; Children Act 1989, s. 15(1), Sch. 1, paras. 2, 3.

57 Leveneur, La famille (Montchrestien, Paris, 7^e éd., 1995), 1192, 1228; Hauser et Huet-Weiller, Traité de Droit civil (Librairie Générale de droit et de Jurisprudence, Paris, 1989), 1255-1258.

58 Malaurie et Aynès, La famille (Éditions Cujas, Paris, 2^e éd., 1989), 836; Demain la famille (Notaires de France, 95^e Congrès, Marseille, 1999), 2116, 2134, 2135.

59 Hauser et Huet-Weiller, op. cit. n. 57, 1254-1258.

60 In industrialised countries people over the age of 65 comprised on average 13 per cent, of the population in 1995, while in developing countries they averaged only 4.5 per cent. Kinsella, K., “Demographic Aspects”, in Ebrahim, S. and Kalache, A. (eds.), Epidemiology in Old Age (BMJ, London, 1996), pp. 32–40Google Scholar. In France in 1996, 20.1 per cent, of the population was aged 60 or over: Demain la Famille, n. 58 above, 1025, 2123-2124.

61 Carbonnier, op. cit. n. 63, 76; Leveneur, op. cit. n. 57, 1086-1087, 1195.

62 Articles 220, 1409, 1414.

63 For exceptions, see Carbonnier, Droit civil, Tome II, La famille (Thémis, Paris, 16^e éd., 1998), 79.

64 Articles 220, 1202.

65 See further, Hauser et Huet-Weiller, op. cit. n. 57, 1000-1011.

66 Article 303. On the court's power to order continued maintenance after divorce in cases of rupture de la vie commune, see Article 281.

67 An order that a third party creditor (usually the employer) of the defaulting spouse pay the relevant sum(s) directly to the other spouse: article 214, al 2; C. Pr. C., art. 1282 et seq.; Loi 73-75 of 2 janv. 1973.

68 An action against the defaulting spouse by certain public bodies. See further, Carbonnier, op. cit. n. 63, 77, 383.

69 Article 303.

70 Article 207-1. See further, p. 157, below.

71 See further, below, pp. 155 et seq.

72 Article 203 (children of marriage), article 334 (children born outside marriage).

73 Article 342. See further, Demain la famille, op. cit. n. 58, 2063.

74 R. v. Secretary of State for Social Security Ex p. G. [1997] 3 F.C.R. 728.

75 Civ. 1^e, 5 fév. 1991, J.C.P.: 91, IV, 127; Bull. I, no. 48, p. 31.

76 Article 334.

77 Article 358.

78 Demain la famille, n. 58 above, 2066-2070.

79 Meulders-Klein, M.T. et Théry, I., “Les recompositions familiales aujourd’hui” in (éd.) Singly, Essais et Recherches (Nathan, Paris) p. 279Google Scholar; F. Dekeuwer-Defossez, Familles éclatées, familles reconstituées, D. 1992, chr. 133.

80 Considered below.

81 For a discussion of these and further difficulties, see Carbonnier, op. cit. n. 63, 390; Demain la famille, n. 58 above, 2066 et seq.

82 The duty continues in respect of adult children undertaking serious studies: Civ. 2^e, 18 mai 1967, 633; Civ. 1^e, 18 mai 1972; and in respect of children who are gravely ill: Civ. 2^e, 12 juil. 1971.

83 Code civil, livre 1, chapitre V.

84 Articles 205, 207. The legal duty does not extend to stepparents, although the Cour de Paris in 1992 recognised, in a case where the mother was dependent on her second husband, that the practical effect of the court's decision was to impose the duty on the stepfather.

85 Article 206.

86 Article 205.

87 Article 207 al. 1.

88 See further, below, pp. 144-145.

89 Leveneur, op. cit., n. 57, 1198; Hauser, J. and Huet-Weiller, D., Traité de Droit Civil, La Famille, (LGDJ, Paris, 2^e éd., 1989), 1314Google Scholar; Malaurie, op. cit. n. 58, 861-864.

90 See Leveneur, op. cit. n. 57, 1198; Hauser and Huet-Weiller, op. cit. n. 89, 1314.

91 Alfandari, , “Droits alimentaires et droits successoraux”, in Mélanges R. Savatier (Paris, 1965), p. 5Google Scholar.

92 Article 1235, al.2; Req. 7 mars 1911, D. 1913, 1, 404. See further, Carbonnier, op. cit. n. 63, 387; Hauser, J. and Huet-Weiller, D., Traité de Droit Civil, La Famille (LGDJ, Paris, 2^e éd., 1989), 1310–1311Google Scholar; A. Bénabent, droit civil (Litec, 8^e éd.), 647; Demain la famille, n. 58 above, 2060.

93 Article 206. The duty is reciprocal: Article 207.

94 Article 206; C.A., Lyon, 25 janv. 1967, D. 1967, 443.

95 Domain la famille, n. 58 above, 2074.

96 The highest French court in civil and criminal matters.

97 Époux Giraud, civ. 2 janv. 1929, D. 1929-1-137, Trib. Seine, 25 nov. 1931, D. 1933, Som. 1, civ. l^e, 18 mars 1968, D. 1968, 623.

98 Civ. 2 janv. 1929, D.P. 1929, 1, 137, note Savatier.

99 ” Civ. l^e, 5 fév. 1991, Bull. civ. I, no. 43.

100 See, e.g., Carbonnier, op. oil. n. 63, 384, 390. Such an order of priority is applied in Germany: below, p. 160.

101 Cour Montpellier, 9 janv. 1952, D. 1952, Som. 25; Cour Paris, 20 mars, 1952, D. 1952, Som. 73.

102 Civ. 27 nov. 1935, D. 1936, 1-25, note A. Rouast, civ 2^e, 12 juil. 1971, D. 1971, 689, Obligation de parents divorcés.

103 On the authority of Civ. 1^e, 29 mai 1974, D. 1975, 481, note Magnin. See Carbonnier, op. cit. n. 63, 384, 390; Leveneur, op. cit. n. 57, 1223; Malaurie, op. cit. n. 58, pp. 454-455; Demain la famille, op. cit. n. 58, p. 365. For a contrary view, see François Boulanger, Droit Civil de la Famille, tôme I, Aspects Comparatifs et Internationaux (3^e éd., Economica, Paris, 1997), pp. 304-305 (recovery is not possible because there exists neither agency nor subrogation within the meaning of article 1251).

104 Civ. 28 fév. 1938, D.H. 1938, 241; Civ. 17 déc. 1946, D. 1947, 93; Civ. 4 juil. 1983, Bullet. Cass. 1983, 5; no. 390, Trib. 15^e arrond. Paris, 26 oct. 1934, D.H. 1934, 614.

105 Cour Aix-en-Provence, 2 mai 1970, D. 1971, Som. 109—grandparents not liable for costs of education.

106 Articles 211 and 210 respectively.

107 Article 208.

108 Civ. 1^e, 19 juin 1979, J.C.P. 1979, éd. GIV, p. 285.

109 Cass. Req. 7 juil. 1863.

110 Cass. Req. 23 fév. 1898, D.P. 1898, I, 303, rapp. Denis.

111 Civ. 2^e, 17 déc. 1965, Bull. civ. II, no. 1054, D. 1966, 465 note Savatier.

112 C.A. Limoges, 23 janv. 1988.

113 C.A. Paris, 10 juin 1983, Gaz. Pal. 1984, 2, 690, note Brazier.

114 C.A. Angers, 27 janv. 1986, Juris-Data no. 042723; C.A. Orléans, 9 nov. 1988, Juris-Data no. 048758.

115 Civ. 1^e, 5 fév. 1991.

116 Article 208.

117 Civ., 19 juin 1979, J.C.P. 4-285; Civ. 2^e, 2 juil. 1980, D. 1981, I.R. 272.

118 Cour Grenoble, 18 janv. 1960-273; C.A. Paris, 11 fév. 1994, D. 1994, I.R. 69.

119 Carbonnier, op. oil. n. 63, 381.

120 Civ. 2^e, 17 juil. 1985; Bull. civ. II, no. 139, p. 93; D. 1986, I.R. 109, obs. Bénabent; Gaz. Pal. 1987, I, 175, note Massip.

121 Civ. 1^e, 17 janv. 1995; J.C.P. 95, II, 22407, note Bénabent.

122 Under article 379, al. 2, the total withdrawal of parental authority relieves a child of any obligation to maintain that parent, subject to contrary court order.

123 Civ. 1^e, 25 mai 1987, D. 1987, 605, note Massip.

124 Boulanger, op. cit. n. 103, pp. 307-308, noting some inconsistency in the application of the principle.

125 Article 209.

126 Article 208 al.2.

127 Cass. Req. 5 janv. 1938, D.H. 1938, 180; Civ. 1^e, 14 janv. 1969.

128 A number of exceptions exist: for details, see Demain la famille, n. 58 above, pp. 367-368 and see further below, pp. 156, 157

129 Art. 14-2, L. no. 91-650 du 9 juil. 1991.

130 Cass. Part. 2^e civ., 17 oct. 1985, Bullet. Cass. 1985, 2, no. 157; Civ. 2^e, 4 mars 1987, Bullet. Cass. 1987, 2, no. 60; Civ. 2^e, 29 mai 1996, Bullet. 2, no. 114.

131 Carbonnier, op. cit. n. 63, 389.

132 Civ. 1^e, 1 juil. 1986.

133 The rule is an application of the general principle that “aliments ne s’arréragent pas”.

134 Carbonnier, op. cit. n. 63, 385; Demain la famille, n. 58 above, 2098-2099.

135 Jambu-Merlin, note sous Civ. 2^e, 29 oct. 1980, J.C.P. 1981, 19665.

136 Carbonnier, op. oil. n. 63, 389.

137 Such institutions are outside the scope of the law described at note 145 and accompanying text.

138 C.A. Reims, 15 déc. 1994, J.C.P. 1995, éd. G. IV, 889.

139 Civ. 1^e, 8 nov. 1989, Bull, civ., I, no. 341, D. 1989, I.R. 303.

140 Civ. 2^e, 29 oct. 1980.

141 Carbonnier, op. cit. n. 63, 389.

142 Civ. 1^e, 9 mai 1975, J.C.P. 1975, éd. G., IV, p. 199.

143 Cases often involve desertion by the defendant and consequent inability by the plaintiff to claim the money. See, e.g., Cass. Req. 30 janv. 1933, “Couchon”, D.H. 1933, 114.

144 See further, Carbonnier, op. cit. n. 63, 381.

145 L 714-38, Code de la Santé publique.

146 Civ. 1^e, 5 fév. 1991, J.C.P. 1991, éd. G. IV, p. 125; Orléans 24 fév. 1993, J.C.P. 1993, éd. G., 1392.

147 Demain la famille, n. 58 above, 2098-2102; Carbonnier, op. cit. n. 63, 389.

148 Carbonnier, op. cit. n. 63, 394.

149 Section 46(l)(i): the surviving spouse takes the personal chattels absolutely, a fixed net sum free of death duties and costs, and half the residuary estate. The other half of the residuary estate is held on trust for both parents in equal shares absolutely, or, where only one parent survives, absolutely.

150 Section 46(l)(i): the residuary estate will be held in trust for the surviving parents in equal shares, or, if only one parent survives, absolutely.

151 Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, s.l(l)(a).

152 Section l(l)(c).

153 Section l(l)(e). For a recent instance of such a claim, see In re B., Dec’d. [2000] 2 W.L.R. 929, discussed further below, p. 162.

154 Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, s.l(2)(a).

155 Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, s.l(2)(b).

156 Re Dennis [1981] 2 All E.R. 140; Re Jennings [1994] Ch. 286, 297-298 per Nourse L.J.

157 Re Jennings [1994] Ch. 286, 295-296 per Nourse L.J.; Re Goodchild [1996] 1 W.L.R. 694; Re Hancock (Deceased) [1998] 2 F.L.R. 346, 351 per Butler-Sloss L.J.; Re Pearce (Deceased) [1998] 2 F.L.R. 705, 710 per Nourse L.J.; Espinosa v. Bourke [1999] 1 F.L.R. 747, 752-755, 760.

158 See Carbonnier, op. cit. n. 63, 394.

159 Article 913 et seq.

160 Leveneur et Leveneur, Successions — Libéralités (Montchrestien, Paris, 5^e èd., 1999), 1321 et seq., 1448.

161 See further below, pp. 156, 157-159.

162 The correlative réserve héréditaire of each child will be half, one third and one quarter respectively: article 913.

163 Article 914.

164 Article 915.

165 Article 727. See further, Maury, op. cil. n. 183, 48-49; Demain la famille, n. 58 above, 4030 el seq.

166 Article 1094-1. The amounts are further increased where the children are adulterine children conceived during the marriage of the surviving spouse to the deceased: see further, Maury, op. cit. n. 183, 330.

167 See Carbonnier, op. cit. n. 63, 391.

168 For details, see Carbonnier, op. cit. n. 63, 94, 96; Malaurie et Aynès, op. cit. n. 58, 900 et seq. In England, despite the general regime of separation of property, it is commonly recognised that in practice a de facto community of property arises between all but the most unusual of couples.

169 Articles 757, 334; loi 3 janv. 1972: since 1972 and with the exception of adulterine children, legitimate and illegitimate children are to be treated equally.

170 Article 334, al. 3.

171 Article 745.

172 Article 745. The rule operates in a manner similar to section 47(l)(i) of the Administration of Estates Act 1925.

173 Article 748.

174 If the deceased is survived by both siblings and half-siblings, the principle of fente (article 733: dévolution interlinéaire﹜ is applied. The privileged collaterals’ share of the estate is divided into two; siblings of the whole blood receive a share of both halves, half-siblings a share of one half only. For details, see Maury, op. cit. n. 183, 42; Leveneur et Leveneur, op. cit. n. 160, 736, 750, 801.

175 Fente applies between ordinary ascendants, but not representation.

176 If the deceased leaves one privileged ascendant in one line and one ordinary ascendant in the other, then by application of the principle of fente the estate is divided between the two in equal shares.

177 Article 753.

178 If ordinary collaterals from both paternal and maternal lines survive, the principle of fente is first applied.

179 Article 755, al. 3.

180 For a history of the evolution of both Roman and French law, see Leveneur et Leveneur, op. cit. n. 160, 789-793. Since 1985, husbands and wives are treated equally: Malaurie et Aynes. op. cit. n. 58, 900.

181 Leveneur et Leveneur, op. cit. n. 160, 789-793.

182 Below, pp. 157 et seq.

183 A scale is applied: gifts to surviving spouses are taxed at a lower rate than gifts to children. The highest rate (60%) is applied in respect of gifts to collaterals and non-relatives: see further, Maury, Jean, Succession el libéralités (Litec, Paris, 1998), 29, 95, 294Google Scholar; Carbonnier, op. cit. n. 63, p. 538. Additionally, spouses often resort to the law of gifts ﹛libéralités﹜ in attempts to offset the disadvantages and uncertainties faced by surviving spouses: for details, see Maury, above, 294-297.

184 Special rules apply where the deceased was adopted by adoption simple or leaves an adulterine child: for details, see Leveneur et Leveneur, op. cit. n. 160, 801-802, 803-2.

185 A quarter if the deceased leaves descendants, half if there are no descendants but surviving privileged collaterals, or ascendants in both paternal and maternal lines.

186 Originally introduced in 1891; since 1972 contained in article 207-1.

187 Civ. 1^e, 1er mars 1988, Defrenois 1988.723, obs. J.M., R.T.D. civ. 1989, 117, obs. Patarin.

188 But can be enforced out of the reserve of the successors. By contrast, the life interest of article 767 is enforceable only out of the quotité disponible.

189 On whether the court will take into account the existence of other liable relatives, see Leveneur et Leveneur, op. cit. n. 160, p. 154.

190 Above, p. 148.

191 Civ. 1^e, 9 mars 1994, Bull. civ. I, no. 88, D. 1995, somm. 44, obs. Grimaldi, Defrénois 1994, 1437, obs. Massip, J.C.P. 1995, 1.3876, no. 3, obs. Le Guidec, R.T.D. civ. 1995, 404, obs. Patarin.

192 Article 207-1.

193 Spousal succession rights may be lost in various ways: for details, see Leveneur et Leveneur, op. cit. n. 160, 794-796.

194 Demain la famille, n. 58 above, 2066-2070.

195 For details, see Mécary et Leroy-Forgeot, Le PaCS (Collection Que-Sais-Je?, Presses Universitaires de France, 2000); Demain la Famille, op. cit. n. 58, 1213, 3146-3148, 3150; Lemouland, Mariage—Concubinage—Pacte civil de solidarité, D. 2000, 411.

196 Demain la famille, n. 58 above, 2064, 2116 et seq.

197 La Commission de réforme du Code civil. For details, see Leveneur et Leveneur, op. cit. n. 160, 824; Maury, op. cit. n. 183, 96 et seq.

198 Ibid.

199 One quarter if the deceased is survived by descendants; a half if there are ascendants or privileged collaterals but no descendants. For details, see Leveneur et Leveneur, op. cit. n. 160, 824.

200 On the tendency of the support obligation to shape our perception of ‘family’, see pp. 134— 135 above.

201 Dagot, “Réflexions sur le droit à maintenance prévu dans le projet de loi modifiant le Code civil et relatif aux successions”, J.C.P. 1994, I 3806; “L’usufruit légal du conjoint survivant dans le projet de réforme du droit successoral”, J.C.P. 1995, I 3822; Leveneur et Leveneur, op. cit. n. 160, 824.

202 Civ. 1^e, 25 oct. 1965, D. 1967, 745, note R. Lindon.

203 E. Alfandari, “Droits alimentaires et droits successoraux”, in Mélanges Savatier, p. 18; Boulanger, op. cit. n. 103, pp. 309-310. For a discussion of possible bases for such a claim, see Carbonnier, op. cit. n. 63, 390.

204 Civ. 12 juil. 1994, bull. civ. I, no. 250, p. 181.

205 Code civil, article 1371.

206 For a full discussion of the decision and its practical consequences, see Demain la Famille, n. 58 above, pp. 373-382.

207 Above, n. 139.

208 See, e.g., A. Sériaux, J.C.P. éd. N. 1995 no. 47, p. 1658.

209 Demain ta famille, n. 58 above, 2116, 3006.

210 See, e.g., Italian Civil Code, arts. 433, 439 (although no such duty exists under German law).

211 See, e.g., Spanish Civil Code, art. 143-2, Swiss Civil Code, art. 328. Cp. Italian Civil Code, art. 433, imposing a duty to support in-laws similar to that which exists in France.

212 Article 594.

213 § 1606 and 1608: a spouse is liable before any other relative, unless he or she cannot meet the obligation without jeopardising his or her own maintenance. Descendants are liable before ascendants, and the proximity of degree is taken into account in determining responsibility within any category. See also Italian Civil Code, arts. 433 et seq., 441-442.

214 § 1606. See also Italian Civil Code, art. 441.

215 § 1610-2.

216 See, e.g., B.G.B. § 1613-2; Code Québec, art. 637.

217 Civ. 1^e, Ch., 2 juin 1978, R.T.D.F. 1979, 78, note J.L. Renchon.

218 For example, under the German B.G.B. § 1611, voluntary misconduct or grave prejudice by the plaintiff towards the defendant or one of his/her close relatives results in the plaintiff's rights being reduced to what is “equitable”. The obligation is extinguished altogether if the defendant can prove “gross injustice” on the part of the plaintiff. See also Italian Civil Code, art. 440.

219 German B.G.B. § 1931; Austrian Civil Code, art. 757; Swiss Civil Code, art. 462; Greek Civil Code, arts. 1820, 1825; Italian Civil Code, arts. 540, 542, 544, 581-583. In Belgium a surviving spouse receives a life interest in the entire estate where there are surviving children: Code civil, art. 745 bis.

220 Above, pp. 135, 137-139. It is interesting to note in this context the view of English academics that the state imposes a prior obligation on families: Finch, op. cit. n. 33, p. 10; Smart, C., The Ties that Bind: Law, Marriage and the Reproduction of Patriarchal Relations (Routledge and Kegan Paul, London, 1984), pp. 117–118Google Scholar.

221 Above, p. 151.

222 The courts will occasionally order maintenance in favour of a child over the age of eighteen: above, pp. 138-139.

223 Who in respect of deaths on or after 1 January 1996 can bring actions under section 1(1)(ba) and (1A) of the 1975 Act, as inserted by the Law Reform (Succession) Act 1995.

224 In re B., Dec'd. [2000] Ch. 662; Bridge [2000] C.L.J. 248. Mother and daughter had lived in a bungalow largely paid for out of a settled award of £250,000 damages in respect of the daughter's disabilities, which resulted from medical negligence at her birth, and had received regular payments from the Court of Protection out of these funds.

225 See, e.g., Cretney, Davis and Collins, , Simple Quarrels (Clarendon, Oxford, 1994), p. 256Google Scholar et seq.

226 On reform proposals to grant the status of héritier réservataire to the surviving spouse, see above, pp. 157-159.

227 Above, pp. 142-143.

228 Above, pp. 134 et seq.

229 Cm 4192-1, 8.24; Pickard, Policy Options for Informal Carers, in Cm. 4192, II/3, Community Care and Informal Care, p. 20 et seq., paras. 39-48.

230 Recent literature has emphasised the heterogeneity of carers. Tinker, op. cit. n. 23, pp. 201-202 and studies cited; Twigg, , “Informal care of older people”, in Bernard, and Phillips, (eds.) The social policy of old age: Moving into the 21st century (C.P.A., London, 1998), pp. 128, 130Google Scholar; Pickard, loc. cit. n. 229. More males than previously believed are involved in caring, although the majority of these are carers of spouses.

231 Tinker, op. cit. n. 23, pp. 203-204; Hancock, and Jarvis, , The Long Term Effects of Being a Carer (HMSO, London, 1994)Google Scholar; Pickard, loc. cit. n. 229, pp. 22-28.

232 Above, pp. 149-150.

233 Above, p. 137.

234 Lipkin Gorman v. Karpnale [1991] 2 A.C. 548 (H.L.); Kleinwort Benson Ltd. v. Lincoln City Council [1999] 2 A.C. 349 (H.L.).

235 See Virgo, , The Principles of the Law of Restitution (O.U.P., 1999)Google Scholar, ch. 11.

236 The deemed pension contributions for carers provided for in the Pensions and Social Security Act 2000 will bring carers into the lowest possible category of pension entitlement: below, pp. 166-167.

237 (1829) 3 Y. and J. 28, 34 per Garrow B. (burial of deceased wife by father in absence of husband).

238 The Australasian Steam Navigation Co. v. Morse (1872) L.R. 4 P.C. 222, 230 per Sir Montague Smith; Re F (Mental Patient: Sterilisation) [1990] 2 A.C. 1, 75 per Lord Goff.

239 Carers (Recognition and Services) Act 1995 and subsequent legislation, infra pp. 166-167.

240 Lamb v. Bunce (1815) 4 M. and S. 275; 105 E.R. 836; Simmons v. Wilmott (1800) 3 Esp. 91; 170 E.R. 549; Tomlinson v. Bentall (1826) 5 B. and C. 737; 108 E.R. 738.

241 (1800) 170 E.R. 549, 500.

242 Glasgow Corporation v. Lord Advocate, 1959 S.C. 203, 230 per Lord Clyde. See further, Virgo, op. cit. n. 235, ch. 14.

243 Institute of Actuaries: Lord Carter, HL Deb. vol. 564, col. 649.

244 Section 1. Section 1(3) expressly excludes paid carers and volunteers from voluntary organisations.

245 Section 1. Sections 5 and 7 extend the direct payments legislation.

246 Sections 3, 7.

247 Section 8.

248 A New Contract for Welfare: Partnership in Pensions (Cm. 4170, 1998), 6.12, 6.23-25, Annex.

249 Inserting a new section 44A into the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992.

250 The Pensions Green Paper anticipated that the measure would be limited to carers of people entitled to attendance allowance or disability living allowance: Cm. 4170, 6.12, 6.23-25, Annex.

251 Care Standards Act 2000, ss. 4(3), (6), 6, 7. The Act reforms the regulatory system for care services in England and Wales. For the first time local authorities will be required to meet the same standards as independent sector providers. Understandably, informal carers will not be subject to the same regulatory scheme (Care Standards Act 2000, Part VII)—but the result will be that the statutory safeguards regarding performance standards will not apply.

252 A full-time carer with no other income would qualify for a pension of £2,280.

253 Cm. 4192-1, 2.35, 2.43.

254 Cm. 4192-1, 2.35.

255 In Victorian Britain, the number of people aged over 65 never exceeded 5 per cent, of the population: Hannah, Leslie, Inventing Retirement (C.U.P., 1986), p. 4Google Scholar. The current figure is 31.4 per cent. (Social Trends 30, HMSO, May 2000, p. 24). The number of people over pensionable age is projected to increase by 11% from 10.7m. in 1998 to 11.9m. in 2011 and to reach 16m. by 2040: Shaw, 1998-based national population projections for the UK and constituent countries, in Population Trends 99, Spring 2000, p. 4 at 8.

256 Ibid., pp. 8-9. The proportion of dependants is projected to drop in 2020 with the increase in women's state retirement age, then to rise rapidly.

257 Financial Times, 17/18 June 2000, p. 7. The study was undertaken by Mountain View Research Associates, a California-based specialist in demographics.

258 Cm. 4192-1, p. xviii.

259 The dissenting minority of the Royal Commission described the costs involved in the majority proposal as a “Croesian flood”: Cm. 4192-1, p. 119 at 34.

260 There are now 13.13m. economically active women, of which 6.94m. are in full-time employment: Labour Market (HMSO, June 2000), pp. 2-3.

261 For a discussion of some of the shortcomings of the system, see Cm. 4192-1, ch. 4.

262 Health Care Standards for Elderly Persons Bill, presented to the House of Commons on 4 April 2000.

263 In the context of long term care, the Care Standards Act 2000 provides for a National Care Standards Commission: above, p. 129.

264 On the problems caused by competing budgetary incentives of different state agencies, see Cm. 4192-1, ch. 4.

265 Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act 2000, Part III; above, p. 132.

266 Child Support Act 1991, ss.6(l), (9), 46(5).

267 ”… in a free society a Government can do little, short of compulsion or other draconian measures, to influence the way in which families or relatives decide whether to care for their older members”: Cm. 4192-1, p. 15.

268 Old Age Pensions Act 1908; above, pp. 131-132.

269 National Insurance Act 1959.

270 Social Security (Pensions) Act 1975.

271 Beveridge in 1942 was concerned that state provision should cover only basic needs so as not to “stifle incentive”: Beveridge Report, para. 9.

272 For detailed discussion of this and later reports, see Nesbitt, Steven, British Pensions Policy Making in the 1980s (Avebury, Aidershot, 1995)Google Scholar; Hannah, Leslie, Inventing Retirement (C.U.P., 1985)Google Scholar.

273 Such pensions were originally referred to as “guaranteed minimum pensions”, but are now called “protected rights” pensions.

274 See now also the Pension Schemes Act 1993.

275 The reductions are to be introduced in stages and will apply to those retiring after 2025.

276 Applicable to eligible workers during the period from 6 April 1988 to 5 April 1993. For details, see Nesbitt, op. cit. n. 272, pp. 94-95.

277 The start date for stakeholder pensions is April 2001.

278 Those who earn between £9,000 and £18,000. Most people who earn more than this amount have already left SERPS: Cm. 4170, 6.10.

279 Cm. 4170, 4.12, 6.4.

280 Cm. 4170, 6.6.

281 The 1999 Act creates the framework to require stakeholder pension providers to supply potential members with specified information: section 1(6); Pension Schemes Act 1993, s. 113; Cm. 4170, 7.32.

282 See, inter alia, Pensions Schemes Act 1993; Pensions Act 1995; Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999; Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act 2000, Part II, Chapter II.

283 The Institute of Actuaries in 1995 put the annual value of unpaid care at £33.9 billion: Lord Carter, HL Deb., vol. 564, col. 629.

284 Above, p. 150.

285 Now contained in the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975: above, pp. 151, 161-162.

286 The prospective intention to care included in section 1 would obviously not apply to successional priority: above, p. 166.

287 An abundance of views exists in the context of quantifying “remedial” constructive trust remedies: see, inter alia, Parkinson, “Beyond Pettkus v. Becker. Quantifying Relief for Unjust Enrichment” (1993) 43 U.T.L.J. 217; Oldham, “Homemaker Services and the Law”, in Pearl, and Pickford, , Frontiers of Family Law (2nd ed, Wiley, Chichester, 1995), 270, 294-295Google Scholar.

288 Above, p. 152.

289 Above, pp. 166-167.

290 Below, nn. 301, 302.

291 Cm. 4192-1, p. 123 at 57.

292 Ibid. The limit proposed is £30,000.

293 Ibid., p. 123 at 59.

294 Cm. 4818-11, para. 2.19. The government did agree to a ring-fenced grant to extend existing council loan schemes: ibid., para. 2.18.

295 Above, pp. 163-167.

296 Cm. 4192-1, 4.36-37, pp. 121-123.

297 Above, pp. 134-135.

298 Finch, op. cit. n. 33, p. 240; see also pp. 135, 164-168 and studies cited therein.

299 Such feelings were frequently expressed in evidence to the Royal Commission: The Context of Long Term Care Policy, Research Vol. 1, Cm. 4192-II/I, pp. 243, 250.

300 Finch, op. cit. n. 33, p. 168 and studies cited therein.

301 From 29 per cent, in 1951 to 71 per cent, in 1998: Social Trends 30, May 2000, p. 167.

302 In 1998-99, 79 per cent, of heads of household aged 45-54 were owner-occupiers: ibid., table 10.8.

303 Similar arguments have been put forward by French academics in response to the 1994 decision of the Cour de Cassation discussed at pp. 159-160, above: see, e.g., Demain la Famille, n. 58 above, 2107; Sériaux, J.C.P. éd. N. 1995 no. 47, p. 1658; Gelot, Le règlement de la créance compensatrice aux parents âgés, Defrénois 1996, art. 36.363.