Once married, in Kenyan law, spouses become automatically entitled to their partner's property in case of death and can thus inherit their property, uncontested.
This marriage could be civil, customary or a church wedding, but a cohabiting partner or a fiancée of a spouse does not hold any claim to this automatic inheritance.
Upon divorce, however, things become a lot more complicated as this automatically removes a former spouse from entitlement under intestate succession rules.
In this explainer, we will dive into the few instances when a divorced woman can successfully and lawfully lay claim to the property of their ex-husband under the Law of Succession Act.
