Married Persons (Property) Act (Act 12 of 1904 (amended 2014))

The Married Persons (Property) Act (the “Act”) sets out the law on property ownership by a married couple in Guyana. Under the Act, property owned independently by either spouse before marriage does not automatically become joint property upon marriage. Instead, each spouse retains individual ownership of their property. A married woman who has property transferred into her sole name is treated as the sole owner. In addition, the Act entitles a married woman to petition for a claim of ownership in her husband’s property used for “trade or business.” Courts will rank the wife’s claim in the same class as unsecured creditors. Spouses who purchase a house jointly are each entitled to equal shares of ownership. Married men and women are both afforded the same remedies in civil and criminal actions when seeking protection of property; however, spouses cannot sue one another in tort.