Who Inherits The Pizza? The Contested Will

In Kenya, anyone – and I mean anyone, including married women – can write down their wishes about who gets what when they’re not around anymore. However, for married couples, things can get a little bit more interesting. Imagine a case where a husband and wife write different wills of the same property- just like writing two endings to the same story. Whom do we believe?

Picture this: it’s the grand finale of a pizza feast. The last slice, almost glowing in the soft kitchen light, sits at the center of attention. On one side, Daddy, with a fiery determination in his eyes, insists that the slice is meant for Daddy’s little girl. On the opposite side of the table, Mummy unleashes a passionate declaration, asserting Mummy’s boy as the undeniable heir to the precious slice.  No one is backing down, and the fate of that last slice is hanging in the balance, creating a deliciously dramatic moment that could rival the climax of a family soap opera. When this happens, matrimonial laws also come into play and Kenyan law brings in a judge – the Solomonic referee – to figure out what happens next.

You see, there are three important things to know:

1. Joint Ownership: If they share things like in a pizza party, in case one spouse is gone, the surviving spouse remains with the whole pizza automatically, no matter what the will says. When property is held in joint ownership, the stake of the deceased spouse automatically passes to the surviving spouse upon his/her death, regardless of the contents of the will.
2. Common Ownership: Each spouse has a separate part that can be left to someone in a will. However, the will has to specify exactly what stake is being passed on since that is going to be the share that the woman owns in the property. It’s a bit like having personal slices of the pizza. So if they each have their own slice of the pizza, in that case, the will needs to say exactly who gets what slice.
3. Contribution: And oh, they need to keep track of who brought what to the pizza party! The Matrimonial Property Act requires that each spouse’s contribution to the acquisition of property be accounted for. This is particularly relevant when determining the share that each spouse is entitled to, which, in turn, affects what a spouse can validly bequeath in his or her will.

The judge looks at everything including what the two of them wanted, the language and content of the wills, the circumstances surrounding creation of the wills, and the presented evidence. Typically conducted through probate proceedings, this process allows interested parties to present their cases. The judge’s role is to interpret the wills, aiming to honor the deceased’s final wishes while upholding the principles of Kenyan law.