The High Court sitting in Nakuru has ruled that spouses are not entitled to automatic management of their partner's wealth after their demise.
In the landmark pronouncement by the court on Tuesday, May 31, the High Court set a precedence on wealth and management of matrimonial property, arguing that a spouse must prove beyond doubt why they deserve to take control of the property and not the other dependants.
Justice Teresia Matheka, who delivered the verdict, observed that the court will grant letters of wealth administration to primary dependents who prove to be more qualified than the rest.
Justice Matheka made it clear that being a spouse alone does not guarantee access to wealth and management of the matrimonial estate.
“Spouses felt more entitled by the law, culture, and hierarchy to take over the control of the properties after the death of their partners. They, however, have to prove before court that they are the most qualified to manage the properties of their [partners],” ruled Justice Matheka.
The ruling stemmed from a case filed by a widow of a late politician seeking to be made the sole administrator of the multimillion estate left behind at the expense of other dependents listed in the will.
Justice Matheka quashed her petition, setting a precedence for future rulings on the management of the matrimonial property.
According to section 29 (1) of the Laws of Succession Act, a spouse is categorised as a primary dependent alongside the children of the deceased partner, whether or not they were maintained by the latter before the death.
Justice Matheka, however, noted that under Section 66 of the Act, the court is supposed to use a priority list to determine the administrator in cases where there was no written will.
"The court shall have a final discretion as to the person/s whom a grant of letters of administration shall be issued to," the Act stipulates.
The ruling comes months after the same Judge ruled that children whose paternity is disputed will no longer need to be subjected to DNA tests so as to be included as beneficiaries of their father’s estate.
Instead, if the paternity dispute persists, such individuals can now seek to inherit the estate as dependants as provided for under Section 29 of the Laws of Succession Act.
The Act also states that where the deceased was a woman, her husband, if he was being maintained by her immediately prior to the date of her death, automatically becomes a dependant.
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