The Law of Succession Act dictates the law on the preparation and execution of Wills in Kenya. Before getting into the basic guidelines, it is important to note the following;

• A will can only take effect after a person’s death. A person with a valid will is deemed to have died testate, not intestate.
• Beneficiaries will not acquire any interest in the property before the person’s death.
• A will can also be revoked or amended any time before death.

The following is necessary to have before preparing a Will:

• A tabulation of assets and their estimated value
• How you would wish various dependants to inherit the assets. Note that the legal definition of dependants is very wide
• An explanation of the factors you have taken into consideration in apportionment
• Proposed executors of the Will. The executor will be the person in charge of administering the estate and ensuring its division.
• How would you like to divide future assets amongst your dependants (future assets are those obtained after the date of the Will)

Other important guidelines include;

• Your execution/signing of the Will must be witnessed by at least 2 persons (who should not be beneficiaries, or beneficiaries’ spouses).
• You need to reasonably (not necessarily equally) provide for all dependants, as any of them who feels he has not been reasonably provided for may apply to court to make reasonable provision for him from the estate. There are many legal factors to take into consideration regarding this point.