Justice Chambers

PALIMONY Palimony is a term that refers to the payment of financial support by one party to another after the end of a relationship that is not legally recognized as a valid marriage. The word “palimony” is a combination of “pal” and “alimony” which translates to "maintenance paid to a friend". The term was coined as a result of a 1976 court case Marvin v. Marvin, by the plaintiff's attorney working on the case. Palimony is a form of financial support available to people who were never married but formerly lived together as a couple and are now separated. It is essential to note that Palimony is not the same thing as alimony, which is a type of financial support that the court may award following the dissolution of a legal marriage. Unmarried couples often live together. As a result, unmarried partners acquire property together as a couple. If such a couple splits up, they may seek to divide their mutually owned properties and encounter disagreements in the pr...

THE RADIANT JUSTICE CHAMBERS, OBAFEMI AWOLOWO UNIVERSITY BIGAMY V POLYGAMY The Black’s Law Dictionary defined bigamy as ‘the act of marrying one person while still legally married to another' while The Black’s Law Dictionary defined polygamy as “the state or practice of having more than one spouse simultaneously”.  Bigamy is generally a criminal offense governed by Section 370 of the Criminal Code of various southern states in Nigeria and Section 384(1) of the Penal Code of various northern states in Nigeria. Traditionally, Nigeria is a polygamous society and in that light, the offence of bigamy was not known but the offence was imported into Nigeria as a received English Law Marrying a second wife while first marriage subsists is a criminal act and an offender is liable to five years imprisonment by virtue of Section 46 of the Marriage Act and seven years for the same offence under Section 370 of the Criminal Code Act. Bigamy is a subset of polygamy. Bigamy can either ...