Marriage and Succession Rights in Nigeria

It is important for parties to ensure that they are in or about to contract a valid marriage under the law, be it a customary marriage or a statutory marriage, this is because, cohabitation no matter how long, is not and does not translate into a marriage under customary law or a marriage under statutory law, neither does it confer marriage rights and responsibilities on the parties of such cohabitation. It is also equally important that not only should parties ensure that they are contracting or have contracted a valid marriage, they should also ensure that they have full awareness and understanding of the consequences flowing from the features of such a marriage, be it a customary marriage or a statutory marriage.

A marriage can be terminated in two ways, by dissolution of the marriage or by death of a party or parties to the marriage, a party must understand how he or she will be affected in those two possible situations by the features of the marriage he or she is contracting or contracted. Instructively, as it relates to the consequence flowing from the termination of a marriage by death, the now deleted section 36(2) of the Marriage Act provided that: “Before the registrar of marriage issues his certificate in the case of an intended marriage, either party to which is a person  subject to native law or custom, he shall explain to both parties the effect of those provisions as to the succession to property as affected by marriage.”

This article relates to the consequences flowing from the termination of a marriage by death of a party to the marriage and the succession rights of the heirs of the deceased flowing there from.