Determining jointly acquired property in syariah court: a legal analysis of children's needs.

Abstract

Demands for division of jointly acquired property are often one of the main agendas for married couples, whether after divorce, after death, or those still in marriage, especially in polygamous marriages. Therefore, the parties involved will convince the court that they are entitled to the jointly acquired property or entitled to a more significant rate in the claim. So, to what extent do judges focus specifically on ‘needs’ in determining the division rate of jointly acquired property in decided cases? It needs to be seen. This article aims to discuss the extent of the role of the ‘needs’ of dependent children and its significance in determining the rate of division of jointly acquired property, which is rarely highlighted in most jointly developed property cases decided in Syariah Courts. This qualitative research method adopts a content analysis study design and uses a document analysis method approach in the data collection process to achieve the objectives. The information and data obtained were analysed descriptively. The study found that implicitly, the child's needs element can influence the court's decision in determining the rate of division of jointly acquired property even if it does not explicitly emphasise the significance of the child's needs in jointly developed property claims in the trial either by the trial judge or by the claimant.