Section 6 of Public Trustee Act CAP 168: Grant to Public Trustee

(1) Where a report of action taken under section 46 of the Law of Succession Act (Cap. 160) has been made to the Public Trustee, or where the Public Trustee has been informed of the death of any person in Kenya and has been requested to take action in respect of the deceased’s estate by any person appearing to have a legitimate interest in the succession to, or administration of, the estate, the Public Trustee shall cause further inquiries to be made as to the estate of the deceased.
(2) If it appears to the Public Trustee as a result of inquiries made under subsection (1) as to the estate of a deceased person that—
(a) the person died intestate;
(b) the deceased, having made a will devising or bequeathing his estate or any part thereof, has omitted to appoint an executor;
(c) the person or persons named as executor or executors in the will of the deceased are dead or have renounced probate thereof or otherwise are unable or unwilling to act;
(d) probate of the will of the deceased or letters of administration with the will annexed to the deceased’s estate has or have not been obtained within six months from the date of the death of the deceased;
(e) the deceased has appointed the Public Trustee as an executor of his will; or
(f) the whole or any part of the estate of the deceased has been left unadministered and the executors of the will of the deceased to whom probate has been granted, or the persons to whom a grant of letters of administration to the deceased’s estate has been made, are dead or otherwise are unable or unwilling to complete the administration of the estate, he may apply under the Law of Succession Act (Cap. 160) to the court for a grant of representation
and the court shall, except for good cause shown, make a grant of representation to the Public Trustee.
(3) Where the Public Trustee has been requested in writing by the executor or administrator (as the case may be) to obtain a sealing in Kenya of any probate, letters of administration or any equivalent thereof in respect of the estate of a deceased person under the provisions of section 77 of the Law of
Succession Act (Cap. 160), the Public Trustee may without any further formality apply to the court to seal and the court may seal the probate, letters of administration or any equivalent thereof.
(4) Nothing in this section shall prevent—
(a) the Public Trustee from renouncing the executorship of any will; or
(b) the court, in exercise of its discretion under section 66 of the Law of Succession Act, from granting letters of administration to the Public Trustee.

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Section 8 - Administration of deceased’s estate without grant

(1) Where the estate of a deceased person consists of property of an estimated gross value not exceeding three million and the deceased has died intestate or left a will in such circumstances that the...

Section 9 - Grant to Public Trustee may be revoked and made to other person

(1) At any time after a grant of letters of administration to the Public Trustee under this Act, any person to whom the court might have committed administration if no such grant had been made may...

Section 10 - Public Trustee to take charge of property on death of agent

If at any time the agent or agents in charge of any estate belonging to any person not residing in Kenya die leaving the property without any responsible person in charge thereof, the Public Trustee...

Section 11 - Disputes to be decided on petition by the court

Where probate of the will or letters of administration has been granted to the Public Trustee under this Act or where the Public Trustee, in accordance with the provisions of section 8(1), is...

Section 12 - Movable property to be realised

(1) The Public Trustee may convert into money all movable property of an estate which he administers under this Act, and may with the consent of the court convert into money all or any part of the...

Section 13 - Priority of Public Trustee’s fees and expenses

Notwithstanding any rule of law to the contrary, the fees payable to the Public Trustee under this Act and any rules made thereunder and any court fees and realization expenses and other charges...

Section 14 - Court may order partition of immovable property

(1) Any person beneficially interested in any immovable property vested in the Public Trustee may apply by petition to the court for a partition thereof, and the court, if satisfied that partition...

Section 15 - Power to collect, realize and hand over assets to Administrator-General

(1) Where a person dies leaving estate in Kenya consisting of movable property only and also estate in Uganda, Tanzania, or Malawi administration whereof is committed to the AdministratorGeneral or...

Section 16 - Treatment of assets received from outside Kenya

(1) Where the administration of an estate has been committed to the Public Trustee and he receives assets which at the time of the death of the deceased were situated outside Kenya, those assets shall...

Section 17 - Duties of Public Trustee

(1) The Public Trustee may— (a) act as personal representative of a deceased person; (b) act as an ordinary trustee of any trust not prohibited under this Act or any other law; (c) act as a...

Section 18 - Appointment of Public Trustee as trustee by person creating trust

(1) Any person intending to create a trust other than a trust which the Public Trustee is prohibited from accepting under this Act may, by the instrument creating the trust, and with the consent of...

Section 19 - Appointment of Public Trustee as trustee by court

If the property is subject to a trust other than a trust which the Public Trustee is prohibited from accepting under this Act, and there is no trustee within Kenya willing or capable to act in the...

Section 20 - Custodian trustee

(1) Subject to any rules made under this Act, the Public Trustee may, if he consents to act as such, and whether or not the number of trustees has been reduced below the original number, be appointed...

Section 21 - Transfer of legacy, etc of minor or person suffering from mental disorder

If any person suffering from mental disorder, within the definition of that term contained in section 2 of the Mental Health Act (Cap. 248) of whose estate the Public Trustee has been appointed...

Section 22 - Security not required

The Public Trustee shall not be required by any court to enter into any bond or security on his appointment in any capacity under this Act.

Section 23 - Court orders

The court may make such orders as it thinks fit respecting any trust property vested in the Public Trustee or the interest or produce thereof.

Section 24 - Power to incur expenditure

The Public Trustee may, in addition to any other powers of expenditure lawfully exercisable by him, incur expenditure on such acts as may be necessary for the proper care and management of any...

Section 25 - Other provisions regarding Public Trustee

(1) Deleted by Act No. 6 of 2018, s. 15. (2) The Public Trustee shall appoint such person or persons as he shall think fit to act as his agents in the managing, collecting and getting in of property...

Section 26 - Government liability for acts of Public Trustee

(1) The Government shall be liable to make good all sums required to discharge any liability which the Public Trustee, if he were a private executor, administrator or trustee, would be personally...

Section 27 - Rules

The Attorney-General may make rules for— (a) defining the duties of the Public Trustee; (b) defining the powers and liabilities of agents, appointing such persons as may be thought advisable to be...

Section 28 - Application of the Unclaimed Financial Assets Act (Cap. 494)

The provisions in the Unclaimed Financial Assets Act (Cap. 494) that require institutions to remit unclaimed assets to the Unclaimed Financial Assets Authority shall not apply to the Public Trustee.

Section 29 - Alternative dispute resolution

The Public Trustee may apply alternative forms of dispute resolution mechanisms to resolve disputes relating to the administration of estates and trusts.

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