what constitutes a "house" in succession matters? what if the said wife got divorced and later died.she did not get buried in any land of the former husband?.

Question

we have a widow and 5childrens plus 2 other children from an earlier divorce in a succession matter. the 2 children claiming that they should be treated as a house and hence get half of the land. There was a legal divorce of their mother and later she died and was not buried in the family land.is it tenable in law? Can they be treated as a house and hence get a bigger share?

Adroit Law LLP · Accepted Answer

Good morning,

Thank you for your question please see our response below.

The concept of 'House' works in polygamous marriages. From the facts provided, it can be said there was no polygamy as the mother of the two children was legally divorced. However, the two children are considered under the Law as children of the deceased and the law provides that all children of the deceased are equal.

In this case, the estate of the deceased would be divided equally among the 7 children and the widow would inherit the personal effects of the deceased and life interest in the estate of the deceased.

Should you have any questions or clarifications please do not hesitate to contact us directly

Thank you.

Bond Advocates LLP · Answer

Under section 40 of the Law of Succession Act, “(1)Where an intestate has married more than once under any system of law permitting polygamy, his personal and household effects and the residue of the net intestate estate, shall, in the first instance, be divided among the houses according to the number of children in each house, but also adding any wife surviving him as an additional unit to the number of children". In this case, there would be 8 units. You can contact us directly with other queries.

what constitutes a "house" in succession matters? what if the said wife got divorced and later died.she did not get buried in any land of the former husband?.

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