Ngwang Shey, Barrister-at-Law, Bamenda. 

What explains the seeming increase in the number of family inheritance court cases in Cameroon over the years? 

Permit me to first state that Family Law in Cameroon is not codified. Hence, my responses are based on the law as applicable in former West Cameroon. A good number of reasons explain the many court cases over inheritance; the most prominent being that many people die intestate – that is, without valid wills disposing of their property. This situation leaves the distribution or liquidation of the estate at the mercy of the Administrator General or the Administrator of the estate.

Secondly, some people are not satisfied with what their parents willed to them and think that by challenging the testamentary dispositions in court, they can secure a better share under administration without will. Current trends show that polygamous homes have high tendencies to go to court over their father’s estate as a result of the large number of beneficiaries. In most cases, the property is often small compared to the number claiming rights of inheritance.

Women, who were never legally married or had divorced, sometimes return after the death of the ‘husband’ to demand their share in the estate. Who really has right to family inheritance and under what conditions?

If the deceased left a will giving rights to a certain property, then under the will, the concerned can acquire right over the property devised or bequeathed to them therein. In the absence of it, except they each prove that they have right over a particular property that has not been extinguished, this category of persons cannot inherit.

It is important to know that the court in granting divorce either nisi or absolute always pronounces on property adjustment. If the court does not do so, either of the parties can seize it to determine that aspect. However, if before determining the issue, the husband dies, the woman has right to seize the court to determine her share in the late husband’s property and not seek to inherit all of the property because her husband is dead.

Are there no better ways of resolving family succession disputes? Court cases appear to last for eternity, tending to benefit lawyers instead; while some people with genuine rights to inheritance end up dying in poverty after waiting for long.

The better way of resolving disputes is to know the law and respect its provisions. The order of succession is the surviving spouse, the children of the deceased, the deceased’s parents, and brothers or sisters of the deceased, in that order of priority. In the event of a dispute, the beneficiaries should seek the intervention of a mediator - the person who enjoys the confidence of all of them to assist in arriving at an amicable settlement of the problem.

I do not agree that court cases last for eternity. There is always an end to litigation and what a lawyer gets is his due legal fee or honorarium. I however agree that court cases generally can protract and the benefits hardly accrue to all entitled to them. This is natural; they are “fighting” because someone died and lost the enjoyment of their property.         

How can one ensure that there are no disputes after their death over the sharing of inheritance?

I strongly recommend that people should write their wills, disposing of their property with a sense of equity and legal entitlements during their lifetime. In so doing, court cases will reduce. Another subjective recommendation is for parents to empower their children during your lifetime so that desperation, poverty or unemployment, do not force them to rely on the deceased’s property for survival.