QUICK FACTS
SCENARIO
Mark has two minor children, Shawn and Marsha, and has been married for two years to Shanta. He takes care of his elderly parents and his deceased brother’s minor children. Shanta and the two children live in his Bel Air property. His parents and his brother’s children live in his Hadfield Street property. Shanta does not like Mark’s family, and she wants them out of the Hadfield Street property. Mark dies suddenly without leaving a will. Shanta intends to put out Mark’s parents and his brother’s children.
Improperly executed wills and no wills at all
It is quite common for persons to die without making a will, or even if they did make a will, they did not comply with the legal requirements to create same. In situations like these, the person would be considered to have died intestate.
The rules of Intestacy are governed by section 5 of the Civil Law of Guyana Act Cap. 6:01. Generally, spouses, inclusive of common law spouses and children, are given priority in the distribution of all that the deceased person owned at the time of his death (his estate). Parents, siblings and grandparents may also receive from the estate, but it is dependent on whether the deceased had a spouse or children.
Section 5 of the Civil Law of Guyana Act
Section 5 is commonly referred to as the law of intestacy, or as it is stated, it is the “law of succession to the estate of every person, male or female, married or single, dying intestate…” It establishes the order of distribution of a deceased person’s estate after all debts, funeral expenses and other expenses have been deducted.
Let’s first take into consideration Mark’s case. According to section 5, since Mark had a wife and children, one-third of all he owned would go to Shanta, and the remaining two-thirds would go to his two children equally. Let’s imagine that Shawn was an adult with a son and that he had died after his father, Mark died. Shawn’s share in Mark’s estate would go to his son. On the other hand, if Mark had no children, then Shanta would be entitled to his whole estate. Therefore, Mark’s parents and his brother’s children would not be entitled to any portion of his estate.
However, if Mark were not married, his estate would be divided equally among his children. If, however, Mark was not married and had no children, then his estate would be distributed among his next of kin – parents would take priority, followed by siblings, nieces, nephews, etc.
Importantly, parents are entitled to a separate and equal share, as they are ranked equally. If either parent dies, however, and any of the children die intestate without a wife or children, then every brother and sister (and their representatives) shall have an equal share in the estate along with the surviving parent.
Thank you for making such information available. Dying intestate is a situation that occurs quite often and can become quite unpleasant,even when the court is involved and the law is clear. My prayer is that family members find ways to mend the broken relationships that sometimes result from such situations.