Law of Succession

William Musyoka

Description

This text broadly and comprehensively covers the area of law of succession in Kenya. It exposes the substantive succession legal regime applying in Kenya as well as the Kenyan probate practice. It is tailored specifically for the legal practitioner, the magistrate and judge, and the law student. Some of the key areas covered include; Testate Succession; Intestacy; Post-Mortem alterations among many others. It is currently the only text on succession law in Kenya.

Sujets

• Law

Informations

• Publié par: LawAfrica Publishing Ltd
• Date de parution: 29 décembre 2006
• Nombre de lectures: 3
• EAN13: 9789966530035
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 6 Mo

Extrait

L AW O F S UCCESSION

L AW O F S UCCESSION

William Musyoka

Published by:

LawAfrica Publishing (K) Ltd Co-op Trust Plaza, 1st Floor Lower Hill Road P.O. Box 4260 - 00100 GPO Nairobi, Kenya Phone: [phone] Fax: [phone]

LawAfrica Publishing (T) Ltd Twiga Towers, 6th Floor P.O. Box 38564 Dar-es-Salaam,Tanzania Phone: [phone] Fax: [phone]

LawAfrica Publishing (U) Ltd Crown House, 1st Floor Plot 4A, Kampala Road P.O. Box 6198 Kampala, Uganda Phone: [phone] Fax: [phone]

Email: [e-mail]

Website: www.lawafrica.com

© W Musyoka Reprint 2010

© W Musyoka Reprint 2008

© W Musyoka 2006

ISBN 9966-7121-3-5

T O C ABLE F ONTENTS Table of Statutes List of Abbreviations and Law Reports Table of Cases

Part one: Introduction 1 Introduction 1.1 introduction 1.2 background 1.3 the relationship between succession law and other areas of law 1.4 testate and intestate succession 2. History of Law of Succession in Kenya 2.1 introduction 2.2 law applying to Africans 2.3 law applying to Muslims 2.4 law applying to Hindus 2.5 law applying to Europeans 3. The Law of Succession applying in Kenya after 1981 3.1 introduction 3.2 the Law of Succession Act 3.3 African customary law 3.4 African customary law and the Law of Succession Act 3.5 Islamic law 3.6 Islamic law and the Law of Succession Act 3.7 the statutes repealed by section 99 of the Law of Succession Act 3.8 the Trustee Act, the Trusts of Land Act, the Public Trustee Act and the  Armed Forces Act 3.9 law of the Domicile of the deceased owner of movable Property

Part Two: Testate Succession 4. The Nature and Function of Wills 4.1 introduction 4.2 nature and function of wills 4.3 characteristics of a will 4.4 the advantages of making a will

xiii xix xxv

3 3 3 4 6 9 9 9 11 13 14 17 17 17 19 21 24 25 26

26 27

31 31 31 31 33

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4.5 property passing upon death other than by will 4.6 conditional and joint wills The Creation of a Valid Will 5.1 introduction 5.2 capacity 5.3 knowledge and approval 5.4 married women 5.5 form 5.6 the doctrine of incorporation by reference 5.7 validity of wills outside the scope of the Law of Succession Act 5.8 privileged wills Revocation, Alteration and Revival of Wills 6.1 introduction 6.2 revocation 6.3 express revocation 6.4 implied revocation 6.5 revocation by destruction 6.6 presumption concerning revocation by destruction 6.7 doctrine of conditional revocation 6.8 revocation by marriage 6.9 revocation by divorce 6.10 revocation of written will by oral will 6.11 alteration of wills and codicils 6.12 revival of wills Gifts by Will and their Failure 7.1 introduction 7.2 types of gifts 7.3 doctrine of election 7.4 presumption of advancement 7.5 doctrine of ademption 7.6 doctrine of lapse 7.7 commorientes or survivorship 7.8 mistake, fraud and undue influence 7.9 uncertainty 7.10 beneficiary or spouse of beneficiary witnessing the will

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36 43 45 45 45 49 58 59 66 66 66 69 69 69 69 70 70 73 73 74 75 75 75 76 79 79 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 85 86

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Table of Contents

7.11 forfeiture 7.12 disclaimer 7.13 perpetuity 7.14 private purpose trusts Construction of Wills 8.1 introduction 8.2 the court construes wills, it does not remake them 8.3 words are construed in their ordinary natural sense 8.4 the will must be read as a whole 8.5 the will must speak for itself 8.6 ascertaining the subject matter of gifts 8.7 ascertaining the beneficiaries 8.8 the class closing rules

Part Three: Intestacy 9 Intestate Succession 9.1 Introduction 9.2 exemption of certain property from the intestacy provisions 9.3 rights of a surviving spouse 9.4 rights of children 9.5 the rights of other relatives 9.6 division of the intestate estate of a polygamist 9.7 devolution to the state 9.8 adopted, legitimated and illegitimate children 9.9 forfeiture and intestacy 9.10 commorientes and intestacy

Part Four Protection of Estates 10 Protection Provisions 10.1 introduction 10.2 intermeddling 10.3 public officers and protection of estates 10.4 the Public Trustee and protection of estates 10.5 protection under the Penal Code

86 86 86 87 89 89 89 90 93 94 97 98 99

vii

105 105 106 110 114 120 122 125 125 128 128

131 131 131 135 136 137

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Part Five: Grants of Representation 11 Grants of Representation 11.1 introduction 11.2 purposes and types 11.3 executors and administrators 11.4 appointment of executors 11.5 numbers of executors and administrators 11.6 capacity to take out a grant 11.7 executor de son tort 11.8 grant of probate 11.9 grant of letter of administration with will annexed 11.10 grant of simple administration 11.11 grants to the Public Trustee 11.12 limited grants 11.13 foreign grants 11.14 administration of an estate without grant 12 Probate Jurisdiction 12.1 introduction 12.2 original jurisdiction 12.3 appellate jurisdiction 12.4 inherent jurisdiction 12.5 supervisory jurisdiction 12.6 applicability of the provisions of the Civil Procedure Act and the  Civil Procedure Rules to succession causes 13 Non-Contentious Probate 13.1 introduction 13.2 applying for a grant 13.3 caveats 13.4 citations 13.5 renunciation 13.6 consent to grant being made to someone else 13.7 making of grants 13.8 passing over 13.9 confirmation of a grant 13.10 alteration or rectification of a grant

141 141 141 141 142 144 145 146 147 149 150 154 155 161 162 163 163 163 167 171 173

173 181 181 181 182 183 184 186 186 190 191 194

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13.11 other non-contentious proceedings196 14 Contentious Probate199 14.1 introduction 199 14.2 objections to making of a grant 199 14.3 protests at confirmation of a grant 207 14.4 revocation of a grant under the Law of Succession Act 208 14.5 applications for review of probate orders and decrees 221 14.6 applications for appointment under section 35(3) of the Law of  Succession Act 222 14.7 applications under section 61 or section 75 of the Law of  Succession Act 222 14.8 applications for reasonable provisions 223 14.9 applications not otherwise provided for 223 14.10 applications under the Public Trustee Act 223 14.11viva voceor oral evidence 223 14.12 costs 224 14.13 enforcement of orders and decrees issued by the probate court 227

Part Six: Administration of Estates 15 Collection, Realisation and Management of Estates 15.1 introduction 15.2 powers and duties of personal representatives 15.3 collection and preservation of the estate 15.4 devolution of assets on personal representatives 15.5 property which does not devolve upon personal representatives 15.6 power to enforce causes of action 15.7 power of sale, mortgage and leasing 15.8 power of appropriation 15.9 personal representatives acting as trustees in some cases 15.10 power to insure assets 15.11 power of delegation 15.12 power of investment 15.13 power to carry on the deceased’s business 15.14 powers to compromise and settle disputes 15.15 power to effect any transaction under order of court

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231 231 231 232 234 236 237 242 245 246 246 246 247 248 249 249