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When a deceased person has a valid Will, their estate is distributed according to it. When there is no Will, the law sets out how the estate will be distributed. This only happens once all debts of the estate have been dealt with and certain waiting periods have passed.
An executor or administrator can distribute the estate:
Specific gifts set out in the Will are distributed first. Anything left is then distributed to the beneficiaries as set out in the Will.
When someone dies without a Will, they are said to have died intestate. In this case, their property is distributed according to the rules set out in The Intestate Succession Act, 2019.
This law does not take into account the wishes of the deceased or their family. An administrator must distribute the net value of the estate in accordance with the law. The net value of the estate is the value of the estate after payment of taxes, debts, funeral expenses and so on. Who the estate is distributed to depends on who survived the deceased and their priority according to the law.
Descendants of the intestate take their share of the estate "per stirpes". The easiest way to explain this legal concept is to look at an example.
Harry had no Will when he died. He had two children, John and Mary. John and Mary would take their share of the estate in equal portions. If, however, either of them died before their father, their share would be divided equally between their children. If any of those children had died, their share would be divided between their children and so forth.
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