An executor or administrator is not the owner of the estate. The personal representative holds statutory authority to collect, protect, account for and distribute property according to the grant and confirmed interests. A dispute should therefore be tested against a specific duty, transaction or court direction—not merely against a beneficiary’s dislike of the representative.

The most useful first document is a transaction-level estate account. It should show what property came under the representative’s control, every receipt and payment, what remains, and what prevented completion. That record distinguishes delay caused by litigation or missing title from misuse, concealment or refusal to administer.

Confirm the representative’s exact authority

Obtain the sealed grant, certificate of confirmation and every later order. Identify all representatives and whether the grant is full or limited. Check for a deceased, renouncing or incapacitated co-representative and any pending revocation or substitution application. A person named as executor in a will may have an important role, but institutions and registries require the authority recognised through the probate process.

Section 79 vests estate property in the personal representative for purposes of the grant, subject to its limitations. Section 82 supplies powers, while section 83 imposes duties. Read those provisions together. The power to collect or sell in a proper case is not permission to ignore confirmation, conflicts or accounting.

Convert complaints into auditable questions

Replace “the administrator is stealing” with questions that can be proved: Which rent was received? Into what account? Which expense lacks a voucher? Which asset is missing from the inventory? What transfer departed from the confirmed schedule? Which court deadline was missed? Then request the relevant record in an indexed form.

Common dispute categories include:

• failure to disclose or collect an estate asset;
• personal use of rent, cash, vehicles or land;
• unexplained sale, undervalue or connected-party transaction;
• payment of an unproved or preferred debt;
• exclusion of a co-representative from decisions and accounts;
• delay in confirmation, transfer or final accounting;
• distribution inconsistent with the certificate of confirmation;
• failure to preserve documents or defend an estate claim.

The inventory and account are statutory controls

Section 83 requires a full and accurate inventory and account within the period specified by the Act, and further accounts when the court requires them. It also addresses completion of administration after confirmation, apart from continuing trusts, within the statutory period or a longer period allowed by the court. Check the current text, grant dates and any extension order instead of calculating from family expectations.

A proper account is not a list of round figures. Begin with the asset schedule at date of death, then show collections, income, realised property, authorised expenses, debts, transfers and closing balance. For each entry attach a bank line, receipt, agreement, valuation, registry document or explanatory affidavit. Reconcile cash and every major asset.

Use a separate estate bank account where practicable. If a representative paid an urgent estate cost personally, record reimbursement with the original invoice and proof of payment. Do not net personal withdrawals against an expected inheritance or informal commission.

Delay must be explained by the administration path

Create a task register for every unfinished item: obtain title, collect rent, determine a creditor claim, resolve tax, defend litigation, value property, apply for confirmation or register transmission. Assign a responsible person, dependency and next date. That reveals whether the representative is working through genuine obstacles or simply inactive.

Section 76 includes specified failures to seek confirmation, proceed diligently or produce required inventory and accounts, after due notice and without reasonable cause. Evidence of notice matters. Preserve letters, service, court directions and responses. A long delay may be serious, but the legal question is not decided by the calendar alone.

Conflicts require disclosure and safeguards

A representative may also be a beneficiary, creditor, tenant or business partner. That status does not automatically disqualify the person, but a transaction benefiting the representative requires transparency. Disclose the interest, use independent valuation, allow co-representatives to participate and seek directions where necessary.

A representative should not purchase estate property secretly or appoint a connected agent on unexplained terms. Keep offer records, commission agreements and reasons for the transaction. The estate-property sale guide addresses valuation and proceeds controls.

If an advocate, accountant or agent holds estate funds, the representative remains responsible for oversight and reconciliation. Obtain client-account or bank evidence through lawful process. Blaming an intermediary does not replace the account.

Co-representatives must operate the same grant

Joint representatives should share the court file, asset register, bank statements, correspondence and transaction approvals. One representative should not sign alone where the grant, law, institution or registry requires joint action. Equally, a co-representative should not obstruct every necessary step without proposing a lawful alternative.

Document disputed decisions in minutes or written proposals. If deadlock prevents tax payment, rent collection or preservation, seek a focused direction. The court may be able to resolve a transaction or allocate responsibilities without dismantling the entire grant.

Information rights and privacy can coexist

Beneficiaries need enough information to understand the estate and proposed distribution. Provide the inventory, periodic account, material valuations, liability schedule and implementation status. Redact unrelated personal data where justified, but do not use privacy as a pretext to hide estate transactions.

A beneficiary should make a specific request and allow a reasonable production process. Repeated demands for every private communication may increase expense without clarifying the account. Identify the missing asset, period or transaction and why it affects the beneficiary’s interest.

Use proportionate court remedies

If the problem is missing information, seek an inventory, account and supporting vouchers. If income is at risk, seek controlled collection or payment into an estate account. If one proposed sale is conflicted, seek valuation and transaction directions. If distribution departs from confirmation, seek compliance with or lawful alteration of the order.

Section 76 revocation may be appropriate where its grounds are proved, including specified administration failures or a grant that has become useless or inoperative. Rule 44 governs the application. Removal without a replacement plan can freeze accounts and litigation, so identify the proposed representatives, unfinished tasks and handover terms. See the revocation guide.

Section 95 creates offences for specified conduct concerning administration and required information or accounts. Criminal allegations should not be used as bargaining language. Preserve the evidence and obtain advice on the actual statutory elements and proper reporting route.

Defending a representative from an unfounded complaint

Respond with the account and source documents, not insults. Explain the authority for each expenditure, the status of each asset and the reason for delay. Identify litigation, creditor objections, missing consents or registry problems and produce the relevant correspondence.

Where a beneficiary occupied an asset, collected rent or withheld title documents, include that fact with evidence. Administration is a complete system; the court should see obstacles created by every participant. Propose a timetable and independent safeguards to reduce suspicion.

Distinguish beneficiaries, creditors and service providers

A person demanding payment may be asserting a beneficiary share, a debt owed by the deceased, an administration expense or a fee for services to the estate. Classify the demand before paying it. Obtain the contract, invoice, judgment, security, proof of performance or court approval appropriate to the category. A beneficiary should not be paid early by disguising a distribution as a loan repayment.

Prepare a creditor schedule showing amount claimed, legal basis, supporting record, dispute status, security and decision. Representatives should protect valid liabilities before distributing the net estate, while rejecting unsupported family claims through a documented process. If litigation is necessary, preserve limitation and authority issues and record the cost-benefit decision.

Professional charges must be transparent. Retain engagement terms, itemised invoices, approvals and proof that work benefited the estate. A representative who is also a service provider should disclose that conflict and obtain independent approval. Beneficiaries challenging a charge should identify the work, amount and legal objection rather than refusing every administration cost.

Handover after replacement or death

If a representative is replaced or dies, prepare an immediate custody schedule. It should cover original grants and titles, keys, leases, accounts, passwords, active litigation, tax files, creditor correspondence, sale documents and money held. Obtain signed delivery and notify banks, tenants, registries and counsel only after the new authority is clear.

Reconcile the account to the handover date. Separate unresolved claims and continuing trusts from distributable property. Replacement does not erase the former representative’s obligation to explain transactions already made.

Estate-administration audit file

• grant, confirmation certificate and later directions;
• opening inventory with ownership and valuation support;
• estate bank statements and transaction ledger;
• rent, dividend, business and other income records;
• invoices, receipts, creditor proofs and payment approvals;
• sale, transfer and distribution documents;
• co-representative decisions and conflict disclosures;
• beneficiary information requests and responses;
• court notices, deadlines and cause of any delay;
• closing account or replacement handover schedule.

Appointment and confirmation are explained in the grants guide. Broader disputes about ownership, survivor status or distribution are covered in the inheritance disputes guide.

Official Kenyan provisions checked

• Law of Succession Act (Cap. 160): sections 45, 55, 71, 76, 79–83 and 95 on protection, confirmation, revocation, representatives’ authority and duties, accounts and offences.
• Probate and Administration Rules: rules 40, 44 and 73 on confirmation, revocation procedure and the court’s inherent power.

Need an executor or administrator account reviewed in Kenya? Request an independent estate-administration audit from a Kenyan advocate. This page is general information, not legal advice; the grant, dates, accounts, disputed transactions and current orders must be verified.

Frequently asked questions

What should an estate account from an executor or administrator show?

It should reconcile the opening asset inventory with every receipt, income item, expense, debt, sale, beneficiary transfer and closing balance. Bank statements, invoices, valuations, agreements and registry documents should support the entries.

Does delay automatically justify removing a Kenyan administrator?

No. The cause, notices, court directions and unfinished tasks must be examined. Section 76 addresses specified failures in administration after due notice and without reasonable cause, while a timetable or focused direction may sometimes solve the problem.

Can a personal representative use estate money and repay it later?

Estate money should remain traceable and separate from personal funds. Proper administration expenses require source documents and authority; personal withdrawals cannot be justified merely by an expected inheritance or an intention to repay.