My brothers-in-law want to disinherit me

My husband passed on last year from a road accident. Since his death, I have known no peace from his brothers who say that I have no further business in that family since my only connection to them is gone. We were not officially married but we have a daughter. I have an older son from a previous relationship and this is known to everyone. His brothers claim that if his property is left with me,  I will give it to my first born son who is not part of their family. They have taken over some of his investments e.g. matatu’s and they want to throw me out of our home. If they succeed, I will be left without any source of livelihood because I depend on these businesses to survive. What can I do to stop? {Jackie}

Your Take:

It is unfortunate that such practices are still rampant in society. People should understand that no one chooses to be a widow so mistreating them after the death of their husband is very unfair. Seek legal advice and action on this.

{Zachary Githaiga}

It is a pity that your family members are now turning their backs on you. You need to seek legal immunity from these greedy characters. You are his legally recognised wife and nobody can change this. Beat them at their own game by seeking legal counsel.

{Rajula Clinton}

The law is there with clear guidelines as to how matrimonial property should be handled upon the death of one party. Your deceased husband accepted your son as his dependant and he too can inherit what belonged to his late ‘father’.

 Follow this up with the help of a lawyer and remain calm and composed and soon they will realize that there is no space for ignorant people these days.

{Ouma Ragumo}

Your late husband accepted you and your son and as such, they have no rights to disown or disinherit him. Even though you were not officially married, you can still prove that he was your husband.

 Again, the birth certificate of your daughter will have his name on it so this may not be very difficult. These things can get complicated so get the services of a lawyer.

{Fred Jausenge}

The law is clear on such matters and you may need to seek the services of a legal officer. You will also need to get credible witnesses to support that you were indeed married to the deceased. I am sure a court of law will rule in your favour if he never wrote a Will.

{Andrew Didy Chaplin}

Counselor’s Take:

Jackie, those people are actually in the process of disinheriting you by stripping you of all your husband's assets and investments. This works for those widows who are ignorant of the law as it is in the present day.

It might help if you sought some good legal advice on this matter to know what the law provides in circumstances such as these.

 Based on the Marriage Act (2014), all assets and liabilities acquired after the formalization of any marriage are treated as matrimonial property belonging to both the man and his wife regardless of the title under which they are registered.

 As such, all properties and investments formerly owned by your husband belong to you in the absence of a Will that would state otherwise.

Advocate Samuel Ngari of S.N. Thuku and Associates advices that you engage the services of an advocate to help file for an "Ad-litem" order. This is a temporary legal order that secures items that are in contention of administration to allow for the filling and determination of a succession case.

 He says this is a quick process that takes about two weeks and it will give specific orders for those assets to be stored in a neutral ground.

This is important because at present the registered owner or the administrator is liable for any damage the vehicles may cause also because they may decide to dispose them off in parts thereby making it difficult to recover the assets even when you win the succession case.

Further, I encourage you to get all the necessary papers together in safe custody. These should include among others registration documents of all assets and investments, his death certificate and any other document that may add value. Do not in any circumstances hand these over to anyone for whatever reason.

However, if you know his lawyer, you may pay him a visit and find out if your husband had left any Will. If by any chance there was one then you may have to consider its contents but in its absence, any assets (estate) formerly owned by him becomes yours.

If you have all the required documents you should pursue legal action which will lead to them being required to produce the vehicles they have taken over until the matter is determined. In such matters, it is always best to seek legal counsel and this will guarantee you better results. {Taurus}