Section 66 of Law of Succession Act CAP 160: Preference to be given to certain persons to administer where deceased died intestate
When a deceased has died intestate, the court shall, save as otherwise expressly provided, have a final discretion as to the person or persons to whom a grant of letters of administration shall, in the best interests of all concerned, be made, but shall, without prejudice to that discretion, accept as a general guide the following order of preference—
(a) surviving spouse or spouses, with or without association of other beneficiaries;
(b) other beneficiaries entitled on intestacy, with priority according to their respective beneficial interests as provided by Part V;
(c) the Public Trustee; and
(d) creditors:
Provided that, where there is partial intestacy, letters of administration in respect of the intestate estate shall be granted to any executor or executors who prove the will.
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- Section 67 - Notice of application for grant
(1) No grant of representation, other than a limited grant for collection and preservation of assets, shall be made until there has been published notice of the application for such grant, inviting...
- Section 68 - Objections to application
(1) Notice of any objection to an application for a grant of representation shall be lodged with the court, in such form as may be prescribed, within the period specified by such notice as aforesaid,...
- Section 69 - Procedure after notice and objections
(1) Where a notice of objection has been lodged under subsection (1) of section 68, or no answer or no cross-application has been filed as required under subsection (2) of that section, a grant may be...
- Section 70 - Powers of courts
Whether or not there is a dispute as to the grant, every court shall have power, before making a grant of representation—
(a) examine any applicant on oath or affirmation; or
(b) call for further...
- Section 71 - Confirmation of grants
(1) After the expiration of a period of six months, or such shorter period as the court may direct under subsection (3), from the date of any grant of representation, the holder thereof shall apply to...
- Section 72 - Grants not to be confirmed in certain circumstances
No grant of representation shall be confirmed until the court—
(a) is satisfied that no application under Part III of this Act is pending; and
(b) has received a certificate from the Estate Duty...
- Section 73 - Duty of court to give notice to holder of grant to apply for confirmation
The court shall within one year from the date of any grant of representation, give notice to the holder of the grant to apply for confirmation thereof. Alteration and Revocation of Grants
- Section 74 - Errors may be rectified by court
Errors in names and descriptions, or in setting fourth the time and place of the deceased’s death, or the purpose in a limited grant, may be rectified by the court, and the grant of representation,...
- Section 75 - Procedure where codicil discovered after grant
If, after the grant of letters of administration with the will annexed or after confirmation thereof, a codicil be discovered, it may be added to the grant on due proof and identification, and the...
- Section 75A - Continuing trust arising
(1) If, after confirmation of the grant of letters of administration at any time there is a continuing trust and only one surviving administrator, that administrator shall without delay apply to the...
- Section 76 - Revocation or annulment of grant
A grant of representation, whether or not confirmed, may at any time be revoked or annulled if the court decides, either on application by any interested party or of its own motion—
(a) that the...
- Section 77 - Sealing of Commonwealth and foreign grants
(1) Where a court or other authority, having jurisdiction in matters of probate or administration in any Commonwealth country or in any other foreign country designated by the Attorney-General by...
- Section 78 - Duplicate or copy of foreign grant to have same effect as original
For the purposes of this Act, a duplicate of any grant sealed with the seal of a court or other authority in a Commonwealth or foreign country, or a copy thereof certified as correct by, or duly on...
- Section 79 - Property of deceased to vest in personal representative
The executor or administrator to whom representation has been granted shall be the personal representative of the deceased for all purposes of that grant, and, subject to any limitation imposed by the...
- Section 80 - When grant takes effect
(1) A grant of probate shall establish the will as from the date of death, and shall render valid all intermediate acts of the executor or executors to whom the grant is made consistent with his or...
- Section 81 - Powers and duties of personal representatives to vest in survivor on death of one of them
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- Section 82 - Powers of personal representatives
Personal representatives shall, subject only to any limitation imposed by their grant, have the following powers—
(a) to enforce, by suit or otherwise, all causes of action which, by virtue of any...
- Section 83 - Duties of personal representatives
Personal representatives shall have the following duties—
(a) to provide and pay out of the estate of the deceased, the expenses of a reasonable funeral for him;
(b) to get in all free property of...
- Section 84 - Personal representatives to act as trustees in certain cases
Where the administration of the estate of a deceased person involves any continuing trusts, whether by way of life interest or for minor beneficiaries or otherwise, the personal representatives shall,...
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(1) The assent of the executor shall be necessary to complete the title of the legatee to a specific legacy.
(2) Such assent may be verbal, and either express or implied from the conduct of the...
- Section 86 - Debts to be paid before legacies
Debts of every description enforceable at law and owed by or out of an estate shall be paid before any legacy.
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If an estate is subject to any contingent liabilities, a personal representative shall not be bound to pay any legacy without a sufficient indemnity to meet the liabilities whenever they may become...
- Section 88 - Abatement and refunding of legacies
Legacies shall abate and be refunded according to the provisions of the Sixth Schedule.
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- Section 90 - Investment of funds to provide for legacies and interest on legacies
Personal representatives shall invest funds to provide for legacies in the manner and according to the provisions set out in the Seventh Schedule to this Act; and legacies shall carry interest in...
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Where a person not having his domicile in Kenya has died leaving assets both in Kenya and in the country in which he had his domicile at the time of his death, and there has been a grant of...
- Section 92 - Protection of persons acting on representation
(1) Every person making or permitting to be made any payment or disposition in good faith under a grant of representation shall be indemnified and protected in so doing, notwithstanding any defects or...
- Section 93 - Validity of transfer not affected by revocation of representation
(1) All transfers of any interest in immovable or movable property made to a purchaser either before or after the commencement of this Act by a person to whom representation has been granted shall be...
- Section 94 - Neglect or misapplication of assets by personal representatives
When a personal representative neglects to get in any asset forming part of the estate in respect of which representation has been granted to him, or misapplies any such asset, or subjects it to loss...
- Section 95 - Offences by personal representatives
(1) Any personal representative who, as regards the estate in respect of which representation has been granted to him—
(a) wilfully or recklessly neglects to get in any asset forming part of the...
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(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, a person who, while sane, murders another person shall not be entitled directly or indirectly to any share in the estate of the murdered person,...
- Section 97 - Rules
The Rules Committee may make rules of procedure generally for the carrying out of the purposes and provisions of this Act, and without prejudice to the foregoing generality, any such rules of...
- Section 98 - Transitional
All proceedings commenced under any written law or part thereof repealed by this Act shall, so far as practicable be continued under this Act.
- Section 99 - Repeal
The laws set out in the Eighth Schedule are repealed.
- Section 100 - Amendments
The Acts set out in the first column of the Ninth Schedule are amended, in relation to the provisions thereof specified in the second column of that Schedule, in the manner specified in relation...