MPs petitioned to amend inheritance law on dead person estate

The court will have power to appoint an administrator within six months where a party to a suit is deceased in a bid to speed up conclusion of inheritance disputes.

Parliament has been petitioned to amend the Civil Procedure Act and the Law of Succession Act to allow a court to appoint an administrator or legal representative where a party to a suit dies.

The law currently does not permit a person or a party to represent the estate of a deceased person unless one has received a grant of letters of administration.

Four individuals from Embu County have filed a petition in the National Assembly asking MPs to amend section 2 of the Civil Procedure Act and section 3 of the Law of Succession Act to allow a court to, within six months, appoint an administrator in a case where a party to a suit is deceased.

The Law of Succession Act defines an “administrator" as a person to whom a grant of letters of administration has been made under the Act.

The Civil Procedure Act on the other hand defines a “legal representative” to mean a person who in law represents the estate of a deceased person.

Ephantus Nyaga, Francis Nyaga Njeru, Elias Ireri and Isaiah Njiru Njeru argue that the current legal framework does not permit a person or a party to represent the estate of a deceased person unless he or she has received a grant of letters of administration whose timeline is currently not specified.

“The petitioners aver that this situation stalls progress on property disputes before courts following demise of the owner or administrator of an estate who is party to the case,” Justin Muturi, the National Assembly speaker said in a communication to MPs.

The petitioners said civil cases involving the deceased person’s property “drag in courts perpetually” after the sued or suing party fail to replace the deceased as legal administrator or fail to pursue legal remedy in the appointment of an administrator.

“Further, the petitioners reveal that they are themselves victims of the aforementioned laws and are additionally aware of numerous families that are affected by the said legal bottlenecks,” Mr Muturi said.

The petitioners sought the intervention of Parliament in amending the two Acts to allow a court to intervene in suits where a party is deceased.

Several cases involving multi-billion shillings properties have dragged in courts following family feuds that have frozen the sharing of the properties.