polygamy and assets distribution 1

Polygamy: Courts must ensure estates divided fairly Arbibi Ashoy Oct 21, 05 6:01pm



I refer to the letter Polygamy, children and poverty by Dr Mana. Definitely there is an urgent need to look at the laws governing distribution of wealth relating to interactions between man and woman.
Most of the time, women are the victims of unfair family laws whether in the civil or Syariah courts. Of course, polygamy is one of the ‘monkey wrenches’ thrown which can disrupts the harmony and balance of the family. Other ‘monkey wrenches’ include adoptions, prostitution and mistresses. All these factors damage the family unit and cause problems related to the sharing of wealth between family members. "Alimony" is defined as monies paid to the spouse when the couple is separated but still married. "Maintenance" is monies paid when the couple has divorced or are not legally married such as maintenance paid to ex-wives and mistresses. Things go smoothly while the husband is still alive but chaos ensues when he dies and his philandering lifestyle comes to the surface. Without precise laws governing inheritance, polygamy is a source of uncertainty. Should the first wife get more because she has been longer with him or should the younger wife get more because she has bigger responsibilities what with toddlers and primary schoolchildren? This is a headache. The second problem relating to inheritance are adoptions. Is it fair that adopted children have no recourse to the property of the deceased? Are adopted children less loved by their adopted parents as compared to blood offspring? The biggest problem of all are mistresses. They are paid monthly "maintenance" fees for their upkeep. Many mistresses have children whether by the present man in their lives or previous men. However, when the man whom she has loved and been dependant on dies, she experiences a great loss. In reality, she served as a wife but legally she is not despite the full consummation of their relationship. The problems relating to marriage, divorce, inheritance and infidelity is one big headache. It is a challenge to the elected lawmakers in Parliament. It is time to get our heads together to come up with a comprehensive formula on how to divide wealth when the patriarch of the family passes away. All of his wives, mistresses and children, both adopted and natural, relied on him and should be entitled to his estate. The question is - who should get how much? In Malaysia where few write wills and wills can easily be contested, the onus falls on the judge to decide. But his decision must be fair and no one side must be excluded.