Some renowned legal practitioners in Ghana have burst the bubble of Ghanaians who want to employ the alleged strategy of Morroco International and PSG defender Achraf Hakimi to hide properties from partners with the objective of avoiding sharing in the case of divorce and property sharing.
According to these lawyers, such a strategy is permissible under Ghanaian law.
Sharing their opinions on the subject on the “The Law” on Accra-based Joy News on Sunday, Lawyer Reindorf Twumasi Ankrah, partner at Morrison, Twumasi and Partners, explained that it is not legal to transfer ownership of assets acquired in marriage to a third party with the aim of enjoying exclusive benefits in the event of divorce.
He added that any asset acquired during the time of marriage is jointly owned hence the transfer of ownership must be consented to by all. He insisted that in the case where it is established that a property acquired during a marriage has been registered in the name of a friend, family member etc, the law provides that the said property be declared joint property and will be equitably distributed.
Lawyer Twumasi Ankrah explained that “now in law, we have what we call trust and we also have what we call tracing. As we have already stated, the law presumes that property acquired in the course of a marriage is jointly acquired properties and the new Lands Act puts an impediment in your way that even if you want to use marital property to secure a loan or for whatever it is, you need the consent of the other person and you can’t even register it without the consent of the other party in your sole name. So clearly the position of the law is well established now.
“If the other person is able to show that this particular property which is situated here or there was acquired in the course of the marriage based on our joint efforts as spouses even though it is registered in the name of – it doesn’t even matter if it’s a land title – even though it is in the name of Mr Amponsah ‘this property belongs to my husband and myself so court please declare me a joint owner or declare that Mr. Amponsah holds it in trust for both of us,” he added.
Another legal practitioner, Iris Aggrey-Orleans, a partner at Beyuo and Co. also made it succinct that the “joint efforts” condition necessary to claim part ownership of an asset acquired in the course of marriage does not necessarily mean both partners contributed financially in the acquisition and development.
She made it clear that domestic chores such as cleaning, washing, ironing, cooking, and other unpaid chores are regarded under the law as “joint effort” based on which a party can claim part ownership.
“The two of you have put together resources and I will not use the word money because resources could be time, could be energy and it could be money. So you’ve put together resources to acquire property. Upon divorce, whether or not that property is registered in another person’s name, that property becomes a matrimonial asset and you’re entitled to enjoy that equitably,” she said.
She was however quick to add that this law as stated in Article 22 of the 1992 constitution is gender-neutral and applies to both spouses.
