No one, not even Hajji Musa himself, expected to die when he did. One day he took his usual morning walk on the farm, just slipped, banged his head on a sharp stone and died just like that. So, there was no will, no instructions about how he wanted his 200 acres and wealth distributed.
Since then, there has been no peace in his home. Different family members have taken sides and even threatened to poison each other if they are ‘cheated’ out of their inheritance.
Hajji Kawumi is worried about how his former friend’s family has been split and wants them to help them deal with the inheritance issues and distribution. What can he tell them?
WHAT DOES THE LAW SAY?
When a person dies without leaving a will about how they want their property dealt with, we say that person has died ‘intestate’ (dying without having made a will). When this happens, the law says that the family has to handle the distribution of the inheritance by getting permission from a court of law. This permission is in a document called “Letters of Administration”. Without this permission, you are not allowed to distribute property.
When the person dies without a will, the family is supposed to hold a family meeting and decide who should get this document. (This person is called an administrator of the estate, and there can be more than one person from the spouse, children, uncles or any person that the family agrees on.
After this meeting, the people who have been chosen can then apply to the Court to get these letters and then distribute the property according to the guidance in the succession laws of Uganda.
Source: BarefootLawyers
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