Blended Family Setup

There is a video about a story/scenario that has been trending online on Facebook and on WhatsApp about a man who gets married two times. The first time he gets married in community of property to the first wife and has a child, then they buy 1 property together. The wife passes away and years later he remarries a second wife in community of property as well. The second wife brings into the marriage another child. Then together (husband and second wife) have a third child. Years later the husband and the second wife both die and only the 3 children remain. Now the video is asking that if the property were to be sold, how much money would each child get bearing in mind that the house belongs to the first family.

The video was posted by Propertyguyza on Facebook and can be viewed here. (This is not a sponsored post).

So lets answer him looking at the law of Botswana.

Marriage in community of property

1. If you are married in Community of property everything is owned equally by the husband and wife.
2. If the husband and wife have children, the children will have a child’s share on the Property of each parent.
3. If one of the parents passes away, the remaining spouse gets 1/2 share of the deceased spouse’s share in the property and the remaining half half goes to the children. For example both wife and husband are 50% each, together they amount to 100%. When the wife passes away, the wife’s 50% is divided twice. The first 1/2 share (25%) will belong to the husband. The husband will now own 75% share in the wife’s portion. The remaining 25% will be shared by the children. In this instance the child from the first wife would get 25% share of their mothers share.

Can I give property to my children while I am still alive?

Yes, you can give property to your children while you are still alive or you can create a Will so that by the time you pass away the property is already divided and everyone knows who gets what.

1. If the couple wants to donate their property to their kids they can do so while still alive by doing transfer into both the kids names. A child can own property in their names even if the child has not yet attained the age of majority. The Parent in the title deed will act as the guardian for the child while the title deed will belong to the child and in the child’s name.
2. They can also do a joint Will which would state what happens to their property should 1 of them pass away to protect the kids interests. Had the first wife and the husband done a Will that the property would go to the child then it also wouldn’t have passed to the husband’s second marriage.

Remarriage-in community of property

1. If the remaining spouse wants to remarry they should decide whether they want the property from the previous marriage to form part of the new marriage or not.
2. If they don’t want it to form part of the new marriage. They go to an Attorney and sign what we call an ANTENUPTIAL CONTRACT. There they exclude everything.
3. The Antenuptial contract has to be signed and registered with the Deeds Registry office before the new marriage.
4. If the spouse goes ahead into the new marriage in community of property, the property becomes part of the new marriage and they own it in equal shares with the new wife.
5. Alternatively the remaining spouse can get married out of community of property to exclude the property.

Who inherits the property in a blended family?

All the 3 children will inherit the property. That is the child from the first marriage, the second marriage and the child who the second wife brought to the marriage. The property was not excluded from the second marriage therefore they all inherit the property in equal shares.

How much does each child get?

Each child will get equal shares because the property was not excluded from the marriage. According to the scenario the value of the property is BWP1,000,000.00 and the property is purported to be sold at that price. Therefore, the value of the property will be divided into 3 and each child will get their share. See below example:

BWP1,000,000÷3 = P333,333.33

BWP333,333.33

Conclusion

In conclusion, before a person gets married they must always think about their property and how they would like to regulate it. If they want to exclude the property from the marriage they do so by entering into an antenuptial agreement with the assistance of Attorneys, get the antenuptial agreement signed and registered with the Deeds Registry Office before the date of the marriage. Or alternatively couples can write Wills or get married out of community of property.

It is important to always remember that property marriage regime governs the assets and liabilities within the marriage, that is the property. And remember if well in doubt of anything, please contact an Attorney to assist you before the fact.

This was an interesting subject to cover. If you would like to read more topics of this nature, let me know down below in the comment section. If you have any questions don’t hesitate to contact me.

Author

Tshegofatso M Seretse (Editor)

Tshegofatso M Seretse (nee Gareegope) LLB, LLM, MBA is the Founder and Editor of Legal Dialog, whose mission is to empower lives through legal education. She is also an admitted Attorney, Conveyancer and Notary Public in the High Court of Botswana who loves the law and believes in legal advocacy. Tshegofatso is also a Published Author, Blogger and legal advocate.

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