ITS MY HOUSE: The Concept of a family house – Who owns it, inherits it?
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ITS MY HOUSE: The Concept of a family house – Who owns it, who inherits it and what does the law say about the ownership.
In practice, the family house is often thrown into relief after a death. In the course of disputes over inheritance, immovable property takes centre stage. Opposed parties turn to the official administration of deceased estates in support of their own interests, and a key faultline of disagreement is whether the house will remain a family house. We see this at the point when an elder or a custodian has passed away, and there is no collective agreement on how the immovable property is to be dealt with. Most commonly, it is to be inherited in terms of intestate succession, by a spouse or children of the deceased. Disgruntled or victimised family members then turn to official administration processes that, however, disregard the family house concept completely. Meanwhile, the property may cease to be identified as a family home if a male relative has not been ‘appointed’ as a custodian. Despite the fact that it was declared unconstitutional in Bhe, male primogeniture (first-born inheritance) continues to be the dominant principle in the social organisation of family house succession (an important alternative is male ultimogeniture, or last-born inheritance).
In practice, the family house is often thrown into relief after a death. In the course of disputes over inheritance, immovable property takes centre stage. Opposed parties turn to the official administration of deceased estates in support of their own interests, and a key faultline of disagreement is whether the house will remain a family house. We see this at the point when an elder or a custodian has passed away, and there is no collective agreement on how the immovable property is to be dealt with. Most commonly, it is to be inherited in terms of intestate succession, by a spouse or children of the deceased. Disgruntled or victimised family members then turn to official administration processes that, however, disregard the family house concept completely. Meanwhile, the property may cease to be identified as a family home if a male relative has not been ‘appointed’ as a custodian. Despite the fact that it was declared unconstitutional in Bhe, male primogeniture (first-born inheritance) continues to be the dominant principle in the social organisation of family house succession (an important alternative is male ultimogeniture, or last-born inheritance).
