When an administrator misuses or hides the estate
Law of Succession Act · sources read 2 Oct 2026
Any interested person can ask the court to revoke or annul a grant, even a confirmed one, if it was obtained by fraud, concealment or defective proceedings, or if the administrator fails to confirm it in time, administer the estate diligently or file accounts. An administrator who misapplies or loses estate assets must make good the loss, and doing it wilfully or recklessly is an offence punishable by a fine of up to KSh 10,000, up to a year in jail, or both.
- Deadline
- The administrator must give the court a full inventory and account within 6 months of the grant.
- Deadline
- Failing to apply for confirmation within one year of the grant (or a longer time the court allows), after due notice and without reasonable cause, is a ground to revoke it.
- Deadline
- The administration must be completed and a final account filed within 6 months of confirmation, unless the court allows longer.
- Where
- The High Court, or a magistrate's court for estates within the magistrate's money limit (the court handling the succession cause).
Steps
- Apply to the court that issued the grant to revoke or annul it, giving the ground: fraud, concealment, false allegation, defective proceedings, or the administrator's failure to act.
- Ask the court to order the administrator to produce a full inventory of the assets and debts and an account of all dealings with them.
- An administrator who neglects, misapplies or damages estate assets can be made to make good the loss.
- Wilful or reckless misuse of assets, or a false inventory or account, is a criminal offence.
Watch out
- A grant can be revoked at any time, whether or not it has been confirmed.
- The duty to make good the loss applies whether or not the administrator is also convicted of an offence.
Who this covers
- Any interested party in the estate; the court can also act on its own.
Official sources (1)
- Law of Succession Act (Cap. 160) new.kenyalaw.org · read 2 Oct 2026