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?.

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.

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.