How to Register Estates of a Deceased Person

A personal applicant for registering Estates of the deceased person in Kenya must take the following steps

Step 1 : Obtain a file and death report at a fee and attach it on personal applicants from the Local Administrative Officer Offices and fill it out.

Step 2 : You also need Take the file to a Legal Officer for Sanctioning after filling the relevant information about the deceased person.

step 3 : Fill out 2 copies for the registrar for file Number form as best as you can by entering details of the deceased’s estate such as bank, post office, building society accounts, property, assets, stocks, shares, debts.

Step 4 : Sign and swear both copies of the Registry before a commissioner for oaths. (One copy of the affidavit, as well as any other relevant information, will be sent by the Local Administrative Officer to the Commissioners of oath after Probate is granted.)

Step 5 : Return the personal application form to the Local Administrative Officer along with:

a)The 2 copies of the Registry Affidavit

b)The death certificate

c)A photocopy of the will and codicil/s (if any)

d)Any other necessary document, for example, official copy of divorce decree (if any)

Step 6 : The Local Administrative Officer will contact you if there are other requirements or issues. If the Local Administrative Officer is satisfied with it,He can process the application you will get an acknowledgement and an estimated waiting time for an appointment.

Step 7 : In due course you will be given an appointment for interview. (More than one appointment may be necessary.)

Step 8 : Attend the interview in person and bring the following required items:

i)Proof of identity, such as your passport

ii)Original will and codicil/s (if any), as well as 3 copies of each

iii)Funeral bills/receipts

iv)Statements up to the time of death of deposits in banks, post offices, credit unions, building societies, etc.

v)Details of other assets (for example, assurance policies, gratuities, superannuation schemes, stocks, shares, cash, prize bonds, etc.)

vi)Details of any liabilities or debts such as outstanding mortgages, loans, wages due to staff. (You may have to put an advertisement in the papers asking creditors to send in their claims within a certain period.)

vii)Details of any debts owing to the deceased’s estate

viii)Details about property (valuation required) together with title deeds or copy of land registry folio.

Step 9 : If an administrator, rather than an executor, is applying for a grant, an administration bond may have to be provided. The surety (guarantor) for the administration bond must be worth the gross value of the estate.

Step 10 : Swear the Executor’s oath. This is an oath swearing that he/she believes that the will in question is the last will of the deceased, that he/she is the person appointed as executor and that he/she will administer the will in accordance with the law. An administrator swears a similar oath.

Step 11 : Pay the fee for probate. Pay the prescribed fee, and obtain an acknowledgement of entry from the proper officer, or by sending through the post at his own risk a caveat in Form 28, signed by him and accompanied by the prescribed fee, to the registry in which he wishes the caveat to be entered.

Required Documents

• The death certificate (original or copy)
• Attach a Death Certificate or Affidavit in Lieu of a Death Certificate.
• Power of Attorney
• Passport photographs
• Newspaper death notice
• A letter from Administrator general.
• Certified by Medical Practitioner.
• A copy of the Letters of Administration

Office Locations & Contacts

The Registrar General – Head Office
Sheria House, Harambee Avenue
P.O. Box 40112-00100,
Nairobi, Kenya
Tel: 020-2227461-9 / 020-2251355 / 0732 529995 / 0700 072929
E-mail: communications@ag.go.ke
Website: Link

Eligibility

The next of kin is Eligible apply for a grant of administration on the Estates of the Deceased person. Priority is given in the following order:

i)The spouse or civil partner,

ii)Child,

iii)Parent,

iv)Brother or sister,

v)More distant relative.

If there is doubt about who is entitled to be the administrator, the issue will be decided by the Probate Registrar. Usually, an administrator is required to give an administration bond to the Probate Office – this is a sort of guarantee that you will carry out your duties properly.

Fees

Registration fees Ksh.100

Validity

Valid for a long time

Processing Time

7-15 days

Instructions

If the persons death has not been reported then report the death to administrator general’s office in Nairobi.

Process the following documents

a)The death certificate (original or copy)

b)Newspaper death notice

c)A letter from a Guardian , advising that the person is deceased.

d)A completed Advice of Death form, a accompanied by any acceptable proof of identity document of the deceased person.

Required Information

i)A certificate of birth

ii)A certificate of death

iii)Full name of the deceased person

iv)Name and Address of Certifying Doctor.

v)Deceased Normal resident in Kenya

vi)Newspaper death notice

vii)Exact place and country of Death

viii)Age of the Deceased

ix)Sex of the Deceased

x)Nationality

xi)Date of death

xii)Details of the deceases estate

xiii)Location

xiv)Details of beneficiaries

Need for the Document

There are times when there are liabilities which a deceased person leaves behind at his or her death. This is usually left in the hands of the “administrator general” or “Estates care taker” (ECT) depending on the choice of the deceased person to act on his/her respective behalf and even to sign agreements relating to the Contract of Purchase and Sale as agents, thereby meeting the requirements at law that all dealings involving land or interests in land be in writing.

It is important that the registration of the Estates of the deceased person be left in the hands of a person who has knowledge of the Estates of the Deceased person.

Registration of Estates of the deceased person involves two parts.

a) the real estate owned by the person,

b) all the remaining assets and legacies of the Deceased person.

In Kenya the Office of the Administrator General manages estates of deceased persons, who die without leaving a will, or where a will has been left but disputes arise in the management or distribution of the deceased persons property. If a person dies and leaves any assets or a will (or both), then his or her estate must be reported to the Administrator General after his or her death.

External Links

http://www.kenyalaw.org:8181/exist/kenyalex/sublegview.xql?subleg=CAP.%20160