Spousal Property Flashcards
What constitutes Spousal Property?
Spousal property for purposes of distribution may be classified into family property, household goods, property acquired before marriage and property acquired during marriage.
What constitutes household goods?
- Intestate Succession Act 1985 PNDCL 111 defines households goods to include:
a) Jewellery
b) Clothes
c) Furniture and furnishings
d) Television
e) Radiogram
f) Electrical and electronic appliances
g) Kitchen and laundry equipment
h) Simple agricultural equipment
i) Hunting equipment
j) Books
k) Motor vehicles which are not used for commercial purposes
l) Household livestock
What happens to Property acquired before marriage?
- Property acquired before marriage continues to belong to the spouse who owned it before the marriage.
- However, if during the marriage, the other spouse adds substantial value to the property and the character of the property changes as a result, that spouse acquires a beneficial interest in the property.
Adjei v Adjei
Property acquired during the subsistence of a marriage whether customary, Ordinance or Mohammedan is presumed to be jointly acquired.
Property acquired with a personal loan taken by one spouse is not joint property- it only becomes joint property when the loan is fully paid off during the subsistence of the marriage
Article 22(3) of the 1992 Constitution
- Article 22(3) of the 1992 Constitution sets out the principle that spouses are entitled to have equal access to properties that were acquired during the subsistence of a marriage.
- This article goes on to explain that property acquired jointly during marriage will either be distributed equally or on an equitable basis upon the dissolution of marriage.
- Article 22(3) applies only upon the dissolution of a marriage and not during its subsistence. (Lithur v Lithur).
Section 20 of the Matrimonial Causes Act, 1971 (Act 367)
The court may order each party to the marriage to pay the other party a sum of money or convey to the other party movable or immovable property as settlement of property right or in lieu thereof or as part of financial provisions that the Court thinks just and equitable.
Mensah v Mensah
All property acquired during marriage is joint property.
in Mensah v. Mensah, the Court did away with the substantial contribution rule and said that sharing of spousal property should no longer be dependent on said principle. Mensah Court held that property acquired during marriage is joint property subject to be shared. The Mensah case suggested that one cannot acquire individual property during marriage
Formula for sharing joint property as articulated in Boafo v Boafo
The formula relied on Art. 22(1); 22(3)(a) and (b) of the 1992 Constitution
First consider whether it will be fair to share property on a 50/50 basis because equality is equity
If it is not fair, then consider sharing on an equitable basis.
Obeng v Obeng equitable factors
When a Court decides to share on an equitable basis it considers the Obeng v. Obeng factors:
The property in question
Length of marriage
Future and present earning capacity of the parties
Future and present Financial resources of each party
Standard of living parties used to
Age of the parties
Quartey v Martey
Previously, property acquired during marriage belonged solely to the man; this was the case in Quartey v. Martey where Justice Ollenu stated that any property acquired by the man with or without the help of his wife was the individual property of the man and not joint property.
sole acquistion Bentsi Enchil v. Bentsi Enchil
In Bentsi Enchil v. Bentsi Enchil, the courts introduced the principle of sole ownership where property acquired during a marriage by a party belonged solely to that party unless there was an express agreement to the contrary, for example a wife’s acquisition of property belonged solely to the wife and not to the husband;
this principle was upheld in Mensah v. Berkoe( Court held that wifes wages earned in the UK belonged solely to her and allowing him to keep it would result in unjust enrichment)
Substantial contribution
Where there is evidence of substantial contribution by the other spouse towards the acquisition of a particular property, the court will hold that the spouse has acquired beneficial interest in the property which is now regarded as joint property
Contribution may be in cash or kind. And it is irrelevant if the spouse cannot provide receipts to show contribution so long as one can prove contribution by other means
Upheld in Reindorf v. Reindorf;(wife acquired 3 houses solely from proceeds of trade, so they belonged to her alone; cash or kind)
