In recent years, the Kenyan public has been introduced to the idea of a last Will and Testament following the death of prominent personalities.
Controversial details from the published Wills of Tob Cohen, former Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore, and former MP Gerishon Kirima have sparked public discussions over time.
The nasty succession battles that have emanated from unclear or contested Wills that have been the subject of many headlines in local dailies.
The Judiciary, under President Uhuru Kenyatta’s administration, has facilitated various initiatives to discourage the prolonged court processes of settling succession disputes.
Types of Succession in Kenyan law
According to the laws of Kenya, there are two types of succession, testate and intestate succession.
Testate succession occurs when the deceased person leaves behind a valid and enforceable Will. Intestate succession occurs in the absence of such a document.
Both types of succession have to be registered and authorized by the courts.
Process of filing a succession matter
A circular published by the Family Division Court on February 11, 2021, outlined that the Gazettement of succession matters had been converted into a hybrid of digital and physical processes.
Giving the process as follows:-
In a testate succession,
Fill in Form P.A. 78 (the petition) and Form P & A 3 (the affidavit). You will be asked to provide the original written and ratified Will and make two photocopies of it and the original death certificate.
In an intestate succession,
The court requires:- a search on the property, a letter from the chief stating the surviving beneficiaries, and the original death certificate. If the property is valued at less than Sh300,000 then the matter will be filed in a Magistrate's court and if the estate is valued at more than Sh300,000 the matter will be filed at the High Court.
Four more forms provided by the court that need to be filled.
The court also provides four forms to be filled as follows:-
a. Form identifying the proposed administrators and at least three witnesses
b. The list of the deceased person’s property (shares in a company, money held in the account, moveable property, and immovable property (land, liability)
c. A list of beneficiaries and dependents;
d. P & A 80 - The main petition that is accompanied by the above-stated forms. It contains the prayers if one wants to be an executor or administrator.
Scan and upload the forms and documents. You will need to do this step on the e-filing portal here.
In a few minutes, the portal will generate a case reference number and also generate an invoice for the court fees you will be required to pay. A standard cumulative fee of Sh3,480 normally applies.
At the time of publishing the courts do not accept mobile money transfers. You will be required to make the payment to the Government Printer: National Bank, A/C 01001000903100.
Submit the original bank deposit slip at the liaison desk at Family Division registry (Milimani Law Courts, 2nd Floor). Failure to submit this slip may cause the gazettement to be aborted.
The matter should be published within three months of filing. Make a copy of the Gazette Notice or purchase the edition at the Government Printers.
The court will at this stage grant “Letters of Administration” to the heirs, and after six months these can be filed in an application for “Confirmation of Grant” orders.
With this, the representative can now confidently distribute the assets.
Report back to the Deputy Registrar’s liaison desk to collect these documents.
Collection of grants, resealing of grants, confirmation of grants, certifications, and orders can be confirmed here.
