Forfeiture

Forfeiture is deprivation or destruction of a right in consequence of the non-performance of some obligation or condition. It can be accidental, and therefore is distinguished from waiver. In the law of England and Wales, the forfeiture rule is the rule of law which prevents a killer from inheriting the estate of a person they have unlawfully killed. The term also refers to the rule in English law under which an insured person who makes a fraudulent insurance claim loses their claim: this rule was derived from common law until the passage of the Insurance Act 2015, which "puts the common law rule of forfeiture on a statutory footing". An honour such as a knighthood can be forfeited if the recipient is later found unworthy.