Intestate Succession Booklet

WHAT IS AN ESTATE?

The word “estate” refers to property left behind when a person dies.

WHAT IS INTESTATE SUCCESSION?

This refers to the distribution of property when a person dies without leaving a valid Will. Parliament has put in place a law which states how the property will be shared and the people who are supposed to benefit from the property left behind. The law is called the Intestate Succession Act, Chapter 59 of the Laws of Zambia. A Will is a legal document which states the wishes of how a person's

property should be distributed after death.

WHO IS AN INTESTATE?

A person who dies without leaving a Will.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A PERSON DIES WITHOUT LEAVING A WILL?

When a person dies without leaving a Will, a person, called an “administrator” is selected by the family to share the property left behind. The person then must lodge some documents at Court, so that he or she is ofcially appointed by the Court. The person is appointed by either the Local Court which issues An Order of Appointment as Administrator or by the High Court which issues Letters of Administration or Probate. What determines which Court one should go to, is the value of the property left behind by the deceased person. If the deceased has left property of great value then the family representatives should go to the High Court, who will appoint the administrator. They should also have a death certificate as evidence that the person has died.

WHO IS AN ADMINISTRATOR?

An Administrator is a person appointed to take care of the property left by the deceased. This can be a man or woman so long as the conditions for such appointment are fullled by the person. An Administrator does not need to be relative of the deceased but should be a person who can be trusted to share the property according to what the law states. An Administrator can also be one of the people inheriting something under the estate. The family of the deceased person can also appoint the Administrator General to distribute the property left behind. The Administrator General is a public ofcial who is appointed and expected to be neutral and help the parties distribute their property. There may also be cases where the deceased left a lot of debts before

he or she died. In such cases, the person owed money can be appointed to distribute the estate. This ensures that those who were owed money will be repaid rst. A person who is appointed for this purpose, can also act jointly or together with another person, to take care of the interests of other beneficiaries.

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