US-Based Kenyan Family Lawyer Gives Legal Advice for Kenyans in Diaspora
US-based family lawyer Wamaitha Kahagi has given key insights into the complexities of international divorce.
In an interview, she delves into crucial aspects such as child custody, support, alimony, prenuptial agreements, and the impact of arbitration clauses in employment agreements.
1. International Divorce Dynamics
When a couple who has connections to both Kenya and the USA considers ending their marriage, legal complexities arise. Wamaitha Kahagi stresses the significance of seeking professional advice to tackle crucial matters such as child custody, financial support, and asset division. She emphasizes the importance of consulting with a lawyer before making any decisions, particularly when dealing with a divorce that involves multiple jurisdictions.
2. Child Custody and Support
Challenging the widely held belief that a 50/50 custody agreement automatically eliminates the need for child support, Kahagi proposes a different, more sensible approach. Rather than relying on rigid guidelines, she advocates for a joint budget to support the children. She affirms that this cooperative method guarantees equitable contributions from both parents, sidestepping any potential shortcomings imposed by standardized rules.
3. Decoding Alimony: Factors and Duration
Kahagi explains that alimony is calculated based on various factors, including differences in income and the length of the marriage. The goal is to ensure that both parties maintain their financial stability after the divorce, which means that alimony could potentially continue until retirement. In a statement, Kahagi emphasizes the intricate nature of negotiations and stresses the significance of taking individual circumstances into account.
4. Prenuptial Agreements
She further highlights the need to consider prenuptial agreements (prenups) for those who bring assets or debts into a marriage. These legal papers entail a thorough disclosure of financial details and may incorporate a predetermined expiry date known as a sunset clause.
5. Arbitration Clauses in Employment Agreements
On matters of employment law, Kahagi delves into the effects of arbitration clauses. While recognizing their effectiveness in resolving conflicts, she stresses the importance of individuals evaluating their bargaining power and the importance of legal recourse. It is crucial for employees to thoroughly contemplate the ramifications of choosing not to engage in arbitration and the potential repercussions it may have on their employment stability.
Kahagi is passionate about helping Kenyans in the diaspora navigate the complexities of family law, divorce, and employment agreements, offering practical advice and legal perspectives on issues that resonate across international borders.
Comments (70)
What "advice" is this for the new year? Ati divorce?
How is this helpful kweli? They shouldve brought a lawyer to give advice on immigration or business law or even rent laws to guide diaspora and build up people not destroying families easily.
It is hard enough to live here, let alone try living kama hawa wamerikka.
Lol...that is very true. Why give such broad coverage to the topic of divorce in January???, or any month anyway??
She knows all the money was spent buying Christmas gifts and now women will be wanting out of marriage in Jan/Feb time frame because the men are broke and can’t pay the huge electricity bills to keep the Crib warm!
Oh, I heard a Kenyan woman call her husband a “Kinyangarika” and vowed to divorce him because he was working two jobs and he was rarely at home. When is a man at home after working 2 jobs each 12 hrs to make the ends meet? And now this woman will get a lawyer paid for by the husband to divorce him? Even these lawyers have no shame!
What other better time for a woman lawyer to mislead other women by telling them to run after they have received very expensive gifts?
Well, my only humble advice to men is to stay single if you want to stay away from these greedy lawyers! They will render you broke in a heart beat! Guys stay away from these Kenyan women gold diggers; and especially those living in America!
The key word here is "Prenuptial". Some of us paid a very heavy price in the past because we didn't heed that simple legal term.
That prenuptial may not work in favor of the man! Lawyers always twist crap like a Can of whoop when it comes to a man getting conned by a woman in the divorce proceedings.
The safest and the surest way for man to enjoy life is to never marry. You get more pussy (from all over the world with no strings attached) that way anyway and you don’t have to go through some headaches dealing with a nagging woman in your house!
Make sure for the woman not to stay in your house long enough because she can claim marriage by common law and you end up screwed!
NO ONE NEEDS YOUR GOOGLE SEARCHED ADVICE ,AM SURE YOU BOUGHT YOUR DEGREES OR YOU USED YOUR PUSSY CAT TO BE A "LAWYER" .
While you are busy insulting her, she is busy ‘chopping her money’ as a divorce lawyer and for her to get this exposure, is thanks to her qualifications, expertise and professionalism. On top of that she looks good!!!!!
Thanks you Ms. Kahagi for representing the diaspora in this legal field.
I am glad to see women responding to this idiot called Toto! She is busy putting down women like she is a mad woman.
@gatheca, sure you can fight for women dragging men down with lawyers, but no one will fight for you when women are taking you down! Remember that simple fact!
I hope never to go see Kahagi because I am not planning to get married, but all the same I wish her the best writing them things! That is pretty tough business where she has to wait for folks to fight to separate them.
Does every woman buy whatever they have acquired using that phantom hole generally called a PUSSY by your standard @agirltoto?
Is there a clean honest woman left out there for good men to fall on? Is your mother a pussy seller (whore) too? Are you a dick mongering pussy shit yourself?
I am just curious because you seem to think every woman who appears on Mwakilishi has to be a pussy seller! Answer me @toto!
@agirltoto is a woman exposing what over 3/4 of the Kenyan women do to make head ways into a man’s life. Once a woman gets in your life, she begins to take you down fast!
She will throw that pontoon right in your face very quickly to confuse you, and then all hell breaks loose if you don’t give to her demands.
This Toto maybe crude in the way she says it but guys take a hint because she got a huge point she is making.
It is the reason you are now seeing “the passport bros” movement cropping up where men are now trotting the globe looking for more feminine woman elsewhere away from the poor ‘men’ acting Kenyan women who are after a man material wealth instead of seeking a clean marriage. Toto is telling the men the real truth!
Just look at this lawyer, she is somehow cute but her mind is warped toward men. She is advising women how to be better takers than partners in a relationship. She wants women to file for divorce so she have a demonic business to do advising these women how to take down a man.
No wonder men are running away from the Kenyan women because you can’t trust them any more! And no wonder most Kenyan women are now complaining that they cannot find a man to marry! Kenyan sisters, we don’t want you anymore because there are much better choices elsewhere! Stay with your evil lawyers and let the men be!
LOOKS LIKE EVERYONE IS SENDING THERE FAKE RESUME TO MWAKILSHI. AND THEY ARE BUYING ALL CRAP ESPECIALLY MSBB THEY BUY EVER CRAP THROWN ON THEM
If you do not have a positive thing to say, kindly shut up. Ms.Kahagi was my lawyer and I have to say that from the initial consultation to the final resolution, she was professional, knowledgeable, and always kept my best interests in mind.
She is not only qualified and knowledge in her expertise field of work but she took the time to explain complex legal concepts in a way that was easy to understand out. More importantly, she was straight up shooter and honest to the boot, called out my BS when needed and kept me in check!!!!!!
I was extremely satisfied with the outcome of my case and I would highly recommend her especially to anyone who is planning on getting married ( pre-nup) and the ones who want to get out of their marriage.
Marriage is not forever, it either ends up in divorce or death so good luck with your ‘google search’
I equally hope the guy had a long term prenup with you @Len to make sure you did not end up taking the dude to the cleaners! Most of you come into the marriage with nothing and then end up with huge assets that you never sweated for! The man is always at risk when marrying a supposed gold digger! Most men are very royal to the marriage but 3/4 of the women come into a man’s life with an alterior motive to kunyakua yote the man has worked hard to aquire!
Gatheca! It was a mutual decision between my fiancé and I to get a pre-nup before our marriage. Counseling educated us on the good and the bad times that come with marriage so we decided in getting a pre-nup.
Pre-nup proceeding are not a walk in the park and you have to face some hard truths that you do not want to face when you are in the ‘in love’ moment. It was our choice and you will be surprised more people are doing it now and it not because one person is richer than the other, but there other factors at stake, 401K, housing, inheritance, health insurance etc. It saves you the nightmare and hell of a divorce.
Additionally, it is so much cheaper than divorce/alimony fees.
Muhuuuu, “in love moment” @Len! Even dogs get in what you call the ‘in love’ moment when they are mating! You don’t have to explain to @Gatheca because we all know “in love” moment with a Kenyan woman does not survive for long. I chose to stay single and just fuck around the world. It is way cheaper that way I do have the freedom to travel the world! I will be in Columbia next week… guys it is a gold mine for black men in Columbia, Russia, Coasta Rica, Brazil, Peru, Philippines, etc! Let’s go and leave the sisters consulting with the lawyers!
I take it that in this prenup agreement, you @Len will only walk out with the few coins you brought in, your personal clothes, sufuria na kikombe! And, You will not demand a share of the man’s wealth that he made during the time he had married you! I also assume that you pretty much life a life of divided assets as you wait for the man to tell you it’s time for you to leave! Is this correct @Len? Hii kaprenup Kakitu is very fun indeed! Prenuptial make the marriage sound very suspicious at all times. Hey, hio ni kikombe yangu wewe usivunje! Aaaiish….!
@Len - What is the positive thing do you want @agirltoto to say about lawyers who get men’s life fucked up over cooked shit by women? Toto is right! Lawyers get between a marriage to destroy it and steal everything a man has so hard worked for and give it to lazy dirty woman! Totogirl is right! Let no body chastise her for speaking the truth! For example, you are just bragging here how this lawyer got you ton load of money from some guy so you can just sit on your ass and do nothing the rest of your life because some damaged guy is working 10 jobs to pay you some alimony; right? This is corruption if the highest order and it should be called out!
“Extremely satisfied” my foot alright @len! She (lawyer) told you the amount of money you will get out of that marriage way ahead before you got into the marriage! No wonder trouble started in your marriage way before you got married because you had an evil exit plan drawn up by the lawyer that you did not even let your suitor know about! Kwenda huko wewe Mwizi!
Who solicited this advice? Mafi
feel compelled to respond to this negative and abusive remark. As one who was her client, I have to say that from the initial consultation to the final resolution, she was professional, knowledgeable, and always kept my best interests in mind.
She is not only qualified and knowledge in her expertise field of work but she took the time to explain complex legal concepts in a way that was easy to understand out. Also, she was straight up honest and called out my BS when needed.
I was extremely satisfied with the outcome of my case and I would highly recommend her especially to anyone who is planning on getting married ( pre-nup) and the ones who want to get out of their marriage.
Marriage is not forever, it either ends up in divorce or death so good luck with your ‘google search
@Len, How long were you in your past marriage? How much money did you get out of this gone South marriage @Len? How much money did you bring into the marriage?
For your information Len: marriage is supposed to last until death do you apart! Women do not marry men; because men marry women! The problem with today’s women is that you want to sit on the man’s head and be the owner of the marriage that a guy invited you to be a part of that marriage!
The only time women start realizing that fact is when they get so wrinkled up to a point no man wants them! I would advise men not to even bother with a divorced woman because most of them are out to make money and move to the next guy!
Being a lawyer is not a profession! They are just bunches of hoodlums that con innocent people their money! You are talking about getting a bunch of cash from a marriage you did not want to compromise, but you were very quick to take the money you never made @Len! You are the reason many men are no longer marrying women because you can’t be trusted to stay married!
Joab, pole it seems you had a painful experience. I’m still rocking 12 years of a happily blissful marriage!!!!! Pre-nup, pre-nup!!!!
@Len, I am sure by now you have started planning the exit strategy! You have to be married for at least 13 years to get anything from the marriage! You still got one more painful year to plan and wait! Brothers, please do not marry and Kenyan women - they are gold diggers per excellence! You got much better choices elsewhere in the world! Much better! Put it like this, I would not marry a black woman at all!
Nothing for you to be “pole” about! I don’t think @Joab had any painful moment because it is always joyful getting rid of a useless woman. It was a good riddance kind of experience for him!
Marry a MAN. There no requirement to marry a woman. Wacha upuzi. Lawyers are a noble profession. In the US 9 lawyers control one arm of the most powerful government in the world. Wewe na madouble zako lamba matador ya punda.
Did you see the 9 distinguished judges soliciting divorce jobs here? Do you go down there to eat a woman’s Punyani? You probably do you silly dummy! Don’t be a shithead here!
You seem to be talking from experience @Fundi how you Mount a donkey’s ass! Kweli wewe ni fala kabisa!
It pays awfully well for a non-profession. Lawyers may be scum until you need one then they are completely necessary. My suggestion to you is if you are about to get married later in life, get a good lawyer and holla, "We want prenup". You seem a little bitter about lawyers though.
It pays awfully well for a non-profession. Lawyers may be scum until you need one then they are completely necessary. My suggestion to you is if you are about to get married later in life, get a good lawyer and holla, "We want prenup". You seem a little bitter about lawyers though.
I do agree with you @mundumugo! As a new University graduate and in my new job for two years, I want to get a prenup when I get serious to settle down.
The women I am dating now seems to care very much if I do have a job and how much money I make as software Engineer from Yale! That simply tells me that it is imperative to have a drawn prenuptial to protect my assets when the rain beats the road.
I want to will all my assets to my dog Tommy because he does protect me from strangers. My prenuptial will verbatimly state that fact, and if the suitor does not like it, she can take a walk!
Secondly, I will not marry a woman who has nothing to show. I want her to know that I have my own goals and at no time my goals will be mixed with her goals.
Therefore, she should not count on my money now in the far fetched future because my dog Tommy will get everything I will own indefinitely! I lawyer should write a prenup based on my wishes and then we will have a judge to certify my wishes!
In a nutshell, any woman willing to shack with me should not expect any inheritance from me, except the food we eat on daily basis! You can understand why I do agree with @mungumugo!
You are very generous because food is very expensive these days! Why can’t the woman buy the food? It ain’t your job to feed a grown ass ass woman. She can feed you too and also buy your clothes! Even she should buy you a Benz for marrying her and taking your damn name!
@Len, How long were you in your past marriage? How much money did you get out of this gone South marriage @Len? How much money did you bring into the marriage?
For your information Len: marriage is supposed to last until death do you apart! Women do not marry men; because men marry women! The problem with today’s women is that you want to sit on the man’s head and be the owner of the marriage that a guy invited you to be a part of that marriage!
The only time women start realizing that fact is when they get so wrinkled up to a point no man wants them! I would advise men not to even bother with a divorced woman because most of them are out to make money and move to the next guy!!
Josh! Still happily married (going nine years now).
Like I mentioned to Gatheca, it was not about the $$$, what he brought or what I brought, it was safe cushion for us so if things go asunder, we do not end up in the situation you described.
@len, stop lying! You just said here you have been married for 9 years! You told @Joab that you have been married for 12 years!!! Which one is truthfully correct? Even a mad woman cannot make such a mistake btwn 9 and 12 years!!! Really!
@len is very confused about the number of years she has been married. It has been too long to wait any longer. She wants out of this marriage deal fast! It is the only way she will make money to buy new skirts.
But you have your partner wrapped around your finger with all manner of threats whenever the shit boils up! What kind of marriage is that where you have the upper hand in nearly everything @Len?
What is the total cost of retaining a divorce lawyer and the other costs involved! Can I do a prenuptial while already married @Len?
If marriage is not “forever” then a Living Will lawyer and not a prenuptial lawyer! @Len, you surely don’t believe in marriage although you claim to be happily married! You are trying to cover all loose ends to come up on top whichever way!
The problem with lawyers is exploiting the clients. They require a client to pay a retain fee which is about 5000.00.
Then the client pays for every transaction (phone calls, paper used, court attendance, pencils, etc) that the lawyer uses. Another bad thing is that a lawyer always drag the case as long as possible while she is sending you high cost bills at the end of every month, as long as the case lasts.
Folks, avoid lawyers like you would avoid a curse! Lawyers can never be your friend!
Ms. Kahagi, congratulations.Thank you for your Advise.
I felt compelled to answer because I am ashamed that we, as Kenyans/Africans, cannot support our own. Regardless of our perspectives on the subject.
First I would like to congratulate Ms Kahagi because I know how hard she has worked to be get where she is and how much effort she puts out to represent her clients female and MALE. CONGRATULATIONS!!
I’m always saddened and depressed by the lack of support people of African decent have for one another. The way we bring our community down enables other nationalities to destroy us from within and ensure we do not succeed.
Just because you do not believe in her profession does not mean you marginalize and insult her no one has that RIGHT.
To those MEN out there that feel threatened by women’s existence please stop compensating with these negative comments. The reason women are running from marriages and trying to live their lives on their own terms is due to the useless negative stereotypes you are peddling on this forum.
@AK6, it is the women that are driving men crazy with some untenable demands and causing the men to run away from marriage! You got that all wrong because men get into marriage to have a lasting family!
Apparently women come into marriage with a “what is in it for me attitude” as they hope to make a quick money benefit but they are not waiting to build that wealth! A ‘material girl syndrome”!
So they end up taking men to lawyers to forcefully take the little amount in the Bank account plus future alimonies along the way! Do not be bitter with what men are saying here! It is affecting them and it is destroying their future!
That explains why 80percent of divorces are initiated by women.Once they discover that the grass was not all that green, they bail out.It time men stopped adoring women.Make your relationship count in your favor.After all marriages nowdays are transactional. And truth be told, you can get all the marriage benefits cheaply from other sources without being married.
It is not that a woman files for divorce because of realizing the grass is not all that green! Women file for divorce to free themselves to find a catch with deeper pockets. It is reason you see women leaving younger and moneyless guys to go shack with the older men with deep pockets. Marriage these days is all about who got the money! Most women do not want to work hard to help out financially in marriage.
AK6 - this sounds like that vicious dog training company that trains Bulldogs and Pitbulls to make them act civilized! You have got everything all mixed up! Man are the ones who have decided not to marry Kenyan women because of the gold digging mentality they possess when getting into the marriage!
The men here are just telling you enough shit is enough and they will no longer be subjected to conmanship by women. You may want to call that insecurities but it is the poor women who are insecure because they have found ways of cashing out on men!
Women don’t like it when men reject them! Kenyan men are rejecting Kenyan women bigly and that is not being stereotypical at all! Statistics show that a large number of Kenyan women are pure breed dogs who are hungry for money! Women are on a get rich fast scheme and the best option Avenue to achieve that is through marriage!
There are so many other places in the world where a man can find a good, not materially greedy, humble and down to earth very beautiful women who don’t have to wear that ugly, smelly and fake do-rag on the head to look like a white chick. The do-rag simply shows how insecure Kenyan woman are in the first place. And why would a Kenyan man want to put up with a fake and insecure woman in the first place?
So, old mama @AK6, please don’t preach to men because you will keep preaching until all your rooters come home rest, and far beyond! We ain’t buying your crap, even if you discount it 98% to be on sale. We no longer want to have anything to do with you any more!
Reading these comments, it amazing how ignorant and shallow most Kenyans are, especially the MEN. Most Kenyan men cannot stomach the fact that Kenyan women are enjoying their rights in America and are doing a million times better than them, case in point, Ms Wamaitha, an accomplished attorney. As a business man myself, I would like to say to Ms Wamaitha, do not waste you dollars marketing to Kenyans. These nigg$$z are broke and will not benefit your business.