Who owns what in a marriage in Bahamas?

In the common-law tradition each spouse generally owns what is in their own name during the marriage. Several countries have statutes giving each spouse a share in the family home or in property acquired together.

The court divides the property fairly on divorce, looking at each spouse's contribution, which in many countries includes unpaid work at home and in the family business.

A couple can generally sign an agreement about their property before or during the marriage, and the courts will look at whether it is fair.

Property from before the marriage, gifts and inheritances generally stay personal.

The country has its own rules on which law governs a marriage and its property. Get local advice if one spouse is a foreigner, if the couple live abroad, or if the marriage was celebrated under religious or customary law.

• In many island countries, especially in the Pacific, family land is held under customary tenure and follows custom rather than the marriage statute.

Bahamas belongs to the Common law family. Family law grows out of the legal tradition, so it helps to know how the system works.

Read the Bahamas legal-system profile in the Legal Families Atlas →
Can a foreigner buy property in Bahamas? →

• JuriGlobe, University of Ottawa: world legal systems
• World Bank: Women, Business and the Law (country data on marriage and property)