Property Fraud During Relationship Breakdowns in Jamaica: How Separation Becomes a Vehicle for Asset Stripping

• A separating spouse may attempt to sell or mortgage shared property before a legal division order.
• Secretly taking out a mortgage on the family home is a serious breach of fiduciary duty.
• Registering a caveat on a shared property’s title is an effective step to freeze dealings during dispute.
• PROSA provides a framework for property division but does not automatically prevent interim asset stripping.
• Court injunctions can be sought to prevent disposal or encumbrance of matrimonial property pending settlement.

When a Jamaican marriage or long-term relationship breaks down, the period between separation and formal legal resolution of property rights can be a window during which one party acts to improve their own position at the expense of the other. The Property (Rights of Spouses) Act provides a framework for dividing property fairly, but it does not operate automatically: it requires one party to assert their rights through a legal process, and in the time before that process is concluded, the other party may take steps to reduce what is available to divide.

Specific fraudulent or dishonest actions that have been reported in Jamaican relationship breakdown cases include: one spouse selling the family home or jointly held investment property to a third party, often at below market value to a connected person, before the other can register their interest; secretly taking out a mortgage against property that the other believed was unencumbered; transferring money out of joint accounts to deprive the other of funds needed to maintain the property or service an existing mortgage; and deliberately allowing a property to deteriorate or running up debts secured against it to reduce its net value before settlement. Each of these actions may constitute both a civil wrong and, in some circumstances, a criminal offence.

Immediate Steps for Persons in Dispute

Any person who is separating or in dispute with a partner over property should take early steps to protect their position: registering a caveat on any property in which they have or claim an interest, to prevent any dealing without their knowledge; seeking a court injunction restraining the other party from selling, mortgaging, or wasting shared assets; and engaging a family law attorney promptly. The Property (Rights of Spouses) Act is available at laws.moj.gov.jm, and legal aid support is available at legalaidcouncil.gov.jm.

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