DRC: Widows’ rights and inheritance without a will clarified

Kinshasa, June 15^th, 2025 (CPA). – The widows’ rights and the rules of inheritance in the absence of a will have been explained on Saturday in Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), by a lawyer during an interview with CPA. ‘When the husband dies without leaving a will, the law determines how the property is divided. The children inherit 75% of the property, while the wife and other members of the deceased’s family share the remaining 25%, with 12.5% going to the wife and 12.5% to the deceased’s family,’ has explained Mr Ndikulu Yana.  He has emphasised on the importance of the prior liquidation of the matrimonial regime, a step that is often overlooked, adding that before any division of the estate, the property acquired during the marriage must be divided equally between the spouses, even if one of them has died. « The wife has the right to the liquidation of the matrimonial regime, i.e. the division of the couple’s property. One part belongs to her, the other to the deceased. The estate only covers the deceased’s share, » he has explained. Addressing the issue of the rights of the deceased woman’s family, Mr Ndikulu has confirmed that they can legally claim a share of the family estate. ‘In principle, it is upon the death of one of the spouses that the property is divided. But unfortunately, in Congo, it is often the widows who have to give up their share to the husband’s family, which is discriminatory,’ he has denounced. Furthermore, the lawyer was keen to clarify that the absence of children does not affect the widow’s inheritance rights in any way. ‘The marriage is a choice between a man and a woman, not between children or family. Whether the couple has children or not, the woman retains all her rights,’ he has added. These legal clarifications come in a context where inheritance disputes between widows and the families of the deceased are frequent, often fuelled by cultural practices that are stronger than the law, has said Mr Ndikulu, before calling for greater awareness of matrimonial property regimes and inheritance to better protect the rights of surviving spouses, particularly the women.