When a wealthy Kenyan dies, the battle over their estate often begins after the funeral. Bank accounts are frozen, businesses stall and families that once appeared united find themselves in disputes over land, shares and control.
At the centre of many of these conflicts is a common assumption that writing a Will is enough.
“It is not,” says Njuguna Muri, an estate and succession lawyer at Muri Mwaniki Thige & Kageni LLP. “A Will is the basic. For comprehensive solutions, one may need a trust, or even engage in other more befitting arrangements such as lifetime transfers, nominations and business structuring.”
From his experience, even families where parents have taken the step of drafting a Will still fall into predictable traps.
“Many assume that a Will is the whole plan,” he says. “Others assume their children are a duplication of them, that they Will manage the estate the same way, preserve it, and maintain harmony. That is rarely the case.” “There is also the assumption that all dependants have equal interests and needs, and should therefore be treated generally. In reality, families are more complex than that.”
In some cases, deeply held beliefs clash with the law. “Some assume that culture overrides the law, for instance, disinheriting daughters. Others assume that being a firstborn or male automatically translates into leadership ability. That is not always true.”
Beyond assumptions, structural mistakes also weaken estate plans long before death.
“Families often fail to separate personal assets from business ones. They ignore matrimonial property claims, and they fail to update wills after marriage, divorce, new children, or major acquisitions,” Mr Muri says.
He also warns that concentrating power in one individual “without clear substitutes creates deadlock, especially where the executor is unwilling, unavailable, or distrusted”.
Even where everything appears to be in order, the legal process itself can slow things down significantly since a will only still requires court succession proceedings before assets can be transferred to beneficiaries. That delay has real consequences, including the freezing of access to bank accounts, land transfers, shareholding changes and business decision-making.
He cautions families against informal workarounds: “The law punishes intermeddling with estate property before authority is obtained, so families who ‘self-help’ after death can create more legal trouble.”
For these reasons, relying on a will alone may not be sufficient.
“A trust can be set up while one is alive,” Mr Muri says. “It becomes worth serious consideration where the estate is large, the family is complex, children are minors or vulnerable, or the assets are business-heavy.”
He adds: “A trust can provide continuity and privacy instead of a long court process,” he explains. “It can work either as a replacement for some assets or as a companion structure to the will.”
“Land in other countries is typically controlled by the law of where it is situated. That means a Kenyan will may not automatically solve inheritance issues for overseas assets,” says Mr Muri.
“Conflicts usually arise where a family uses one will for everything, fails to check the foreign country’s succession rules, or assumes that a Kenyan grant will automatically work abroad.”
For families with businesses, the risks are even higher. “A will alone may divide shares, but it does not by itself guarantee that the company will run smoothly after death,” Mr Muri says. “The key is to separate ownership, control and benefit. Otherwise, beneficiaries may disagree or lack the management skills needed to run the business.”
To avoid this, governance structures are critical. “Families should consider shareholders’ agreements, company constitutions, family trusts holding shares and clear succession clauses for directors and signatories,” he says. “Early mentorship for future managers is also important.”
“A parent can protect land, shares and other assets through a properly drafted will, a trust, or lifetime transfers, depending on the situation,” he says.
But documentation must match intent. “Families should keep title documents, share certificates, trust deeds and estate records aligned, and avoid mixing personal, matrimonial and business property without clear documentation.”
Even then, a will can still be challenged.
“A will can be contested on grounds such as lack of proper execution, lack of mental capacity, fraud, coercion, or undue influence,” Mr Muri explains.
Courts also retain discretion and can alter a valid will if any dependant was not reasonably provided for. Mr Muri says poorly handled wills are especially vulnerable.
The people appointed to manage the estate can also become a source of conflict. Their effectiveness depends on more than just the appointment.
“Disputes often arise where family members refuse to act or challenge each other,” says Mr Muri.
In polygamous or blended families, the complexity increases.
“The law recognises multiple houses and provides a distribution structure, but a one-size-fits-all approach often creates resentment or court battles,” Mr Muri says. “The safest approach is to identify each house, each spouse’s rights, the children in each unit, and any prior gifts or settlements before deciding on the final structure.”
“Families often underestimate the real cost of estate transfer—legal fees, valuation fees, gazettement, court filing costs, title transfer expenses and company filings,” he says.
While Kenya does not impose a general estate duty, the process is far from cheap.
“Other taxes and transaction costs may arise depending on how the estate is reorganised,” he adds. “However, estate planning costs are generally cheaper than court battle fees.”
The nature of wealth is also changing and Mr Muri says the law is still catching up with it, especially digital assets, Sacco shares and cross-border portfolios.
The biggest risk when it comes to these assets, he says, is often poor documentation.
“Families fail to document passwords, nomination details and ownership. Sometimes this leads to loss of assets.”
For those looking to protect an estate, his advice is this:
First, prepare a full and honest inventory of everything you own or owe: land, shares, bank accounts, businesses, digital assets, and foreign property. Second, do not generalise, understand each dependant and choose executors, trustees, and decision-makers who are capable, trustworthy and willing to act. Finally, the estate plan must be professionally done.
Without this level of preparation, even significant wealth can quickly unravel.
“Every estate has its own risks and its own needs,” Mr Muri says. “The most important point is that neither the people nor the solution should be treated generically.”
In the end, the distinction is simple.
“A Will tells the court your wishes,” he says. “But a good estate plan makes those wishes easier to carry out without a fight.”
