Protection of widows and surviving children under the intestate succession laws of Zimbabwe: The case of estates of persons subject to customary law

Abstract

This paper interrogates contentious legal issues pertaining to the protection that the law offers to widows and surviving children under intestate succession laws of Zimbabwe as provided for by the Administration of Estates Act [Chapter 6:01] and the Administration of Estates Amendment Act No. 6 of 1997 which came into force on 1 November 1997. Prior to this date, the administration of estates to which customary law applied was governed by section 68 of the Administration of Estates Act [Chapter 6: 01] which stipulated that where the deceased died intestate and customary law applied to him, the estate shall devolve according to customary law. Although in theory, the heir was supposed to administer the estate in the interests of the surviving spouse and children, this has not always been the case. This paper analyses the relevant statute and case law to ascertain the nature and scope of protection of widows and surviving children in the post 1 November 1997 era. It concludes that vulnerable groups are not adeqautely protected. The overall aim of the paper is to determine how the law can be amended to protect these vulnerable groups from the challenges they currently face, especially the loss of residential property.

KEYWORDS: Widows, surviving children, estate, customary law, Zimbabwe, intestate