Born out of wedlock? You might not get inheritance
Homa Bay Township MP Peter Kaluma has proposed to amend the Succession Bill.
The new proposal will lock out partners, former wives and children born out of wedlock from claiming the inheritance.
Kaluma’s proposal wants the inheritance to be limited only to men and women who are legally married, their legal children and extended family.
He wants section three of the Act to be amended to read that a spouse means a husband or wife or wives recognized under the Marriage Act.
Section three defines a wife as a woman who has separated from her husband, a spouse, a widow and also caters for men who are widowers.
Children of a deceased
Notably, it does not limit inheritance to only those who have tied the knot under civil, traditional or religious marriages.
Kaluma also wants to amend section 29 of the Act which defines who a dependant is.
According to Kaluma, the section should read that a dependent is a spouse and the children of a deceased.
“A person not named in this section shall not be a dependant for the purposes of this Act unless the person proves was maintained by the deceased for a period of two years prior to the deceased’s death,” the proposal reads.
Dependants are defined as the wife or wives, former wife or wives and the children of the deceased whether or not maintained by the deceased immediately prior to a man’s death.
