Let’s harmonise succession Bill

Concerns have often been raised about property of a deceased despite a written will. The question of who legally inherits a deceased’s property is one that many people still grapple with due to a number of dynamics. By law, the Office of the Administrator General manages estates of deceased persons, who pass on without writing a will or where a will has been left but disputes arise in the management or distribution of the decease’s estate.

Succession means the acquisition of rights and/or property of a deceased person by law. The Succession (Amendment) Bill, 2018, currently under scrutiny by the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee, seeks to amend the Succession Act, Cap 162 (1906) to bring it in conformity with the Constitution.

It also seeks to repeal unconstitutional provisions, to eliminate discrimination regarding customary heirs and heiresses with the view of protecting principal residential property of the surviving spouse.

But the Bill under scrutiny gives more powers to the surviving spouse than the children. According to the Private Member’s Bill, when a husband dies, his widow is entitled to 50 per cent of his estate, his children 41 per cent while his relatives are entitled to 9 per cent. Yet children form more than 55 per cent of Uganda’s population of more than 40 million people.

The Succession Act should be amended alongside other laws that relate to management of properties of deceased persons such as the Succession Act, Administrator General’s Act, and Estates (Small Estates) (Special Provisions) Act, 1972.

While the Auditor General is concerned about the percentage share that the deceased’s children get, there are other concerns, for example, of irresponsible children, who end up squandering the estates under their charge. As such, we should devise ways on how to prepare children to manage the estate

Fears have been raised in cases where the deceased did not write a will. This is known as intestate succession. However, Section 27 of the Succession Act, provides guidance on how such property is distributed based on different scenarios.

First, where the deceased is survived by a customary heir, a wife/wives, a lineal descendant (children) and dependent relatives, they are entitled to 1 per cent, 15 per cent, 75 per cent, and 9 per cent of the estate respectively.

In the absence of a widow or dependent relatives, their proportion will go to the children. It should be known that a will can and is often challengeable in courts of law by whoever believes that they have been treated unfairly.