There is no will, the funeral is done, and the family must now deal with the house, the shamba and the bank accounts. The question everyone asks , who inherits? , has a legal answer that was set out in advance, whether anyone read it or not.
Who inherits when there is no will in Kenya?
Dying without a will is dying intestate. The Law of Succession Act (Cap 160) contains a fixed scheme of distribution that applies in place of the deceased’s own choices. Administration passes through a grant of letters of administration issued by the court, and the estate is then distributed according to the Act’s priorities, not the family’s assumptions. The Act can be read in full on the Kenya Law website at https://www.kenyalaw.org/.
What does a surviving spouse receive under the Act?
Where the deceased is survived by a spouse and children, the spouse is entitled to the personal and household effects of the deceased and a life interest in the matrimonial home, with the remainder of the estate shared with the children. Where there is a spouse but no children, other relatives of the deceased may take defined shares. A widow’s life interest can be lost on remarriage in the circumstances the Act describes, and a widower’s interest ceases on remarriage.
How are children treated in intestate succession?
Children take their shares equally as a starting point, and the share of a minor is held on trust until majority. The Act’s protections extend to children regardless of the formality of their parents’ relationship , but proving the relationships and holding the family steady through the process is the practical challenge, and it is where most intestate administrations slow down.
What if there is no spouse or child?
The Act then steps through a hierarchy , parents, siblings, and progressively more distant relatives , with rules for partial intestacy, where a will covers some assets but not all, and for estates where no kin can be traced.
Intestacy is not a disaster, but it is a default, and defaults rarely match what the deceased would have chosen. CS Advocates LLP advises families on administering intestate estates and on putting wills in place afterwards; see our practice areas, and our conveyancing team handles the land transfers that follow a grant.
For guidance on your specific situation, contact CS Advocates LLP , call, WhatsApp, or book a confidential consultation at our Westlands, Nairobi office.