‘Debbie Backer’ bill gives divorced persons more time to claim property

Deborah Backer

The Married Persons (Property) (Amendment) Bill 2013 was on Thursday evening unanimously approved by parliament and will see persons being given a three-year timeframe to claim property after the dissolution of their marriage.

The bill in the name of deceased APNU parliamentarian Debbie Backer saw every parliamentarian who spoke on it dedicating same to Backer. They explained that the bill seeks to give, especially women, the option of a change of heart in filing for property up to three years after their divorce through the summary process.

However, Attorney General Anil Nandlall explained that the bill was subject to interpretation and to him means that the three-year period was a guide. “It should be interpreted to be inclusionary and not exclusionary. In other words it should include applications for the three-year period by allowing those applications to benefit from a summary process but not to