A gym instructor who contested his late wife’s will has been awarded a house in Nairobi’s South B, land in Kajiado and a Mercedes Benz as his inheritance.
In the will, the man contested through Kituo cha Sheria, he had been bequeathed a lorry and Sh50,000.
Judge Abida Ali Aroni ruled that the man had a legitimate claim to a reasonable share of his dead wife’s property because she had taken care of him for nine years.
The wife died after battling ovarian cancer. He was her second husband after her first husband died.
At the time of her death, the woman had four children from her first marriage who were her dependants. Her husband was also fully dependent on her.
The court heard that the woman also took care of the instructor’s son from a previous relationship. The man told the court that he had a back problem and could not work.
When she died, the woman left a house each in Karen, Plainsview, Nyayo Embakasi and Kiserian. She also had property in Kisamis, Kajiado, Diani, Kisumu and two parcels of land in Chemelil.
In addition, she had life insurance, pension plus benefit, shares in Karen Hospital and money in five different bank accounts. She also had a Land Cruiser, Lexus, Mercedes Benz E240, Mercedes A160, a lorry, a Pajero and a Toyota Vitz.
The gym trainer told the court that his wife did not have a physical capacity to make a will. He also questioned whether the will provided reasonably for all dependants.
The court heard that the man married his late wife in 2005, when he was 37 and the woman 51. He remained her husband until 2012 when she died.
He lived with her at all times in their matrimonial home in Karen. But when she died both he and his son were thrown out by his stepdaughter.
He said his late wife was extremely ill and could not even speak so it was not possible for her to write or dictate the contents of the will.
The children, on the other hand, disputed the claim. They said even when she was not able to append her signature to the will, she was mentally alert and asked her sister to sign it on her behalf.
The man said he did not have many qualifications and asked for a reasonable share of the estate because he invested his emotions, time and money in the family.
In February, Aroni declined to annul the will, saying the properties were divided equally among the children of the woman.
However, she directed executors of the will to value the houses in Plainsview, Nyayo Embakasi, Simba Villas, Embakasi, Kiserian, Ngong’ View, Kisamis and Kajiado town property.
The report was to be produced in court to enable her make a reasonable provision for the man.
The judge said the expectations of the man were in tandem with the obligation that his wife who was his keeper for close to nine years ought to have provided for.
She took into consideration, however, that her house in Karen and several other properties were acquired with her first husband.
The judge made considerations for the lifestyle the man was accustomed to and comfort she had exposed him to.
“The lorry given out to a friend nine years ago and whose state is not known cannot by any means be reasonable provision, and I so find,” she ruled.
The September 24 decision was made after a valuation report of properties was presented in court.