• The registrar or CAO may refuse to marry a couple where:
• One or both parties intending to get married is already married
• The parties getting married have a close blood relation.
• One or both parties are below 21 years of age and no consent to marry has been obtained from the parents or guardians where one or both parties are 18 years but below 21 years of age.

A customary marriage is potentially polygamous. This means that a man can marry as many wives as he wishes under the customary norms and practices of his area. However, he must fulfil each woman’s customary requirements.

• Cohabitation is not recognised as a form of marriage in Uganda regardless of the duration of the time the two have lived together.
• The fact that the man and woman have produced children does not make them husband and wife.
• They, therefore, do not enjoy privileges that accrue to parties who are married. Thus, the provisions relating to spouses in the sharing of property and succession do not apply to people living in cohabitation.
• A person who qualifies in law as a husband or wife is the only one who can benefit from the deceased spouse’s estate/property.
• A cohabiting can, however, benefit from the property only if it was registered in both their names as joint owners. However, the connotation should not be that of a wife (i.e. Mr And Mrs...), but simply two people having joint ownership over a piece of land.