A trader in Eastlands dies without a will, leaving a widow, two adult children and a house in Buru Buru. She was his second wife; his elder children are from the first marriage, and that detail changes how the estate will be shared. Kenyan law decides who inherits, and the family’s assumptions are not always correct.
What happens when a person dies without a will?
Intestacy brings the distribution scheme of the Law of Succession Act (Cap 160) into play. The estate is administered by administrators appointed by the court, and the assets pass to the heirs the Act identifies, in the order of priority it sets out.
Who takes priority under the Act?
Where the deceased is survived by a spouse and children, the spouse takes the personal and household effects and a life interest in the net intestate estate, and the children share the remainder in the shares the Act prescribes. The life interest is a real right: it protects the surviving spouse’s home and income for life, and it comes to an end only in the circumstances the Act allows.
What if there is no spouse or no children?
The Act then descends a ladder of relatives, parents, then siblings, then more distant kin, with prescribed shares where several survive in the same degree. Polygamous families raise particular questions about how houses and shares are allocated, and blended families often need advice on which children fall within the scheme. Proof of each relationship, birth certificates, chiefs’ letters, is needed when the petition is filed.
Do dependants outside the scheme have rights?
Yes. Dependants who were being maintained by the deceased can apply to the court for reasonable provision from the estate even where they are not among the heirs who inherit on intestacy. Where the estate includes agricultural land, transmission will also engage the Land Control Act. CS Advocates LLP advises families on intestate estates and on applications for provision; see our practice areas and about the firm. The Act is available on Kenya Law.
For guidance on your specific situation, contact CS Advocates LLP, call, WhatsApp, or book a confidential consultation at our Westlands, Nairobi office.