I was married traditionally in 1983. During our marriage, we both took loans and built a house before we separated. Our children are now grown-ups and I need a share of the house so that I can live with them. My husband does not want to give me my share. What happens when I seek divorce? What if he sells the house without my knowledge?
Helene, Nairobi.
First, the house you constructed together after taking loans – separately — falls within matrimonial property. You may be separated but the house falls under matrimonial property — the Matrimonial Property Act also defines Matrimonial Property as immovable property jointly owned and acquired during the subsistence of the marriage. The property can also fall within the precincts of a matrimonial home if you all lived there as a family – before separation.