Court okays sale of deceased’s undistributed property
The beneficiaries of an estate of a deceased person can dispose of the estate without necessarily having the letters of administration, the Court of Appeal has ruled.
A panel of three justices, at the second highest court in Uganda, held that a beneficiary can also enter into a valid agreement of sale of land formerly owned by a deceased person even when his/her name is not registered on the land title provided it is part of his/her share in the estate.
Justices Catherine Bamugemereire, Muzamiru Kibeedi and Christopher Gashirabake further ruled that the consent or authority of the heir or administrator of the estate is not necessary for the sale to be valid and legally binding.
“The beneficial interest or estate can be validly sold or assigned to another person (third party) by the beneficiary. A purchaser of the beneficial interest can enforce his rights against the administrator of the estate in the same way the beneficiary is entitled to,” the justices ruled.
The decision of the court arose from an appeal filed by Dr Dina Kanzira against Herbert Natukunda and Robert Tukamuhbwa.
All were beneficiaries of the estate of the late Eric Rwanchwende.
In 2007, Mr Natukunda sued Dr Kanzira and his brother Rwanchwende disputing a land transaction between the two people for sale of a 30-acre piece of land, which formed part of their late father’s estate.
Mr Natukunda’s claimed that Mr Rwanchwende had not been allocated his part of the share of his late father’s estate, and therefore, he had no legal authority to sell any part of it.
He also claimed Mr Rwanchwende had a mental illness at that time and had no capacity to enter a sale agreement.
But Justice Bamugemereire who wrote the lead judgment, observed that the estate of the deceased, although it was not distributed, guaranteed each member clarity about what portion of the land belongs to them.
The judge said Section 180 of the Succession Act grants the administrator powers to manage the estate of a deceased person but it does not make him a sole-owner. She added that the administrator only holds the land in trust.
“Section 180 of the Succession Act did not envisage that the administrator would act like a private proprietor of the deceased’s estate and turn the said property into his own. He, at all times, acts on behalf of the beneficiaries,” Justice Bamugemereire said.
According to court, it is either out of sheer ignorance or lack of knowledge that the family of the late Rwanchwende has allowed one person monopoly of power.
“Where a family has decided to apportion and allot each member a part of the whole estate, it is envisaged that the beneficiary, aware of their rights and interests, may deal with the land as he or she wishes. However, the high-handed methods by which the late Eric Rwanchende’s estate is, borders on illegality,” the court held.
