Who owns what in a marriage in Zambia?

In a civil (statutory) marriage in the common-law tradition, each spouse generally owns what is in their own name during the marriage. In a customary marriage the rules of the community apply, and in an Islamic marriage each spouse keeps their own property.

The court generally 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 in a civil marriage can generally sign an agreement about their property. Customary and Islamic marriages have their own forms, such as bridewealth or the mahr, which are separate from the rules on shared property.

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 customary or religious law.

• In customary and Islamic marriages a man may in some countries have more than one wife, which changes how property is shared; a civil marriage is monogamous. Which kind of marriage a couple have therefore matters more than anything else.

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

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