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Administration of Estates..
Administration of Estates..
Intestate Succession
The residential holding normally occupied by the deceased prior to his death
as his principal residence or owned by him as a principal residential
holding, including the household chattels therein, shall be held by his
personal representative upon trust for his legal heir subject to the rules
relating to the occupation of residential holding.
In the case of any other residential holding owned by the intestate, any wife, or children,
under eighteen years of age, if male, or under twenty-one
years of age and unmarried if female who were normally resident in the
residential holding shall be entitled to occupy the same.
Any wife, husband or child who normally cultivated, farmed or tilled any
land adjoining a residential holding owed by an intestate prior to his
death, shall have the right to continue to do so as long as he continues to
be resident. Subject to the provisions of Sections 30 & 31 of the
succession Act, the estate of a person dying intestate, with the exception
of his principal residential holding, shall be divided among the following
classes in the following manner:
NB: Nothing contained herein above shall prevent the customary heir from
taking a further share in the capacity of a lineal descendant if entitled
thereto in such capacity.
A Customary heir means the person recognised by the rites and customs of the
tribe or community of a deceased person as being the customary heir of that
person.
Testate Succession
A person is said to have died testate when he leaves a valid Will disposing
of all his property.
A Will is a legal declaration of the intentions of the testator with respect
to his property, which he desires to be carried into effect after his death.
A Will takes effect only after the death of the testator. Therefore, until
death, the beneficiaries and executors thereto have no interest whatsoever
in the testator's property and they do not acquire any interest until after
the testator's death. Section 46 of the Succession Act provides the
persons capable of making Wills;
Grant of Probate and Letters of Administration are orders of the court which
confirm/confer the authority of the personal representative to administer
the estate of the deceased and which indicated the terms on which the estate
is to be administered. Section 179 of the Succession Act provides that the
executor or administrator as the case may be, of a deceased person is his legal
representative for all purposes, and all the property of the deceased person vests in him as
such.
Probate can only be granted to an executor appointed by the Will and shall
not be granted to any person who is a minor or is of unsound mind.
When several executors are appointed, Probate may be granted to them all
simultaneously or at different times. If a codicil is discovered after the
grant of Probate, a separate Probate of that codicil may be granted to the
executor, if it no way revokes the appointment of executors made by the
Will.
NB. Provided that if different executors are appointed by the codicil,
the Probate of the Will shall be revoked and a new Probate granted of the
Will and the codicil together.
If the Will is written in any other language other than English, a transaction
thereof shall be annexed to the petition. Notice of the application for
grant of Probate/Letters of Administration is to be made. This notice gives
14 days from the date of application for anyone with a claim or grievance to
lodge a caveat.
1. Introduction
The Probates (Resealing) Act, 1936, Chapter 144, Laws of Uganda, provides
that where a court of probate (defined to mean any court or authority, by
whatever name designated, having jurisdiction in matters of probate) in any
part of the Commonwealth, or a British court in a foreign country, has
granted probate or Letters of Administration in respect of the estate of a
deceased person, the probate or letters so granted may, on being produced
to, and a copy thereof deposited with, the High Court of Uganda be sealed
with the seal of that court, and thereupon shall be of the like force and
effect, and have the same operation in Uganda as if granted by that
court.The Commonwealth includes any dependent country of the Commonwealth
and any dependency of such country and the Republic of Ireland.
2. Procedure
The application for the sealing of a grant of probate or letter of
administration may be made by the person to whom the grant was made or the
attorney of such person. Under the Probates (Resealing) Rules, the
application shall be made by lodging with Registrar of the High Court at
Kampala the grant required to be sealed, including a copy of the Will to
which the grant relates or a copy thereof certified as correct by or under
the authority of the court which made the grant, a copy of the said grant
and of the Will, if any; a certificate of the Will, if any; a certificate as
to payment of probate duty; in the case of letters of administration; a bond
(security in a sum sufficient in amount to cover the property; if any, in
Uganda, to which the letters of administration relate if the applicant is
acting under a power of attorney, the instrument creating the power and, if
the applicant requires the instrument to be returned with the grant a copy
of such instrument.
Upon sealing the grant, it shall be of the like force and effect, and have
the same operation in Uganda as if granted by the High Court of Uganda at Kampala.
The Trust Corporations (Probate and Administration) Act, 1959, Chapter 143,
Laws of Uganda, provides that a body corporate which is authorised by it^Òs
Memorandum and Articles of Association or the instrument constituting it or
defining its powers to act as executor of the Will or administrator of the
estate of a deceased person or as trustee of a settlement whether created by
Will or otherwise, the High Court of Uganda may grant probate to a trust
corporation, either solely or jointly with another person where they are
will as executor; and where there is no Will, the High Court may grant
letters of administration to a trust corporation, solely or jointly with
another person.
Procedure
The provisions of the Succession Act Chapter 139 Laws of Uganda, relating to
the practice and procedure to be followed in applications for and grants of
probate and letters of administration shall apply to applications for and
grants of probate and letters of administration by and to trust
corporations.