Administration of Estates (Small Estates) (Special Provisions) Act (Chapter 156)
Uganda
Administration of Estates (Small Estates) (Special Provisions) Act
Chapter 156
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Commenced on 6 June 1972
- [This is the version of this document at 31 December 2000 and includes any amendments published up to 30 September 2020.]
- [Note: The version of the Act as at 31 December 2000 was revised and consolidated by the Law Reform Commission of Uganda. All subsequent amendments have been researched and applied by Laws.Africa for ULII.]
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—(a)“small estate” means any estate the value of which is specified in section 2(1);(b)“Minister” means the Minister to whom functions under this Act are assigned. An application for the grant of probate or letters of administration shall be made in the prescribed form and shall contain such matters as may be prescribed. After any grant of probate has or letters of administration have been made, no person other than the holder of the grant may sue or otherwise act as representative of the deceased, until the grant is revoked. Where any probate is or letters of administration are revoked, all payments bona fide made to any executor or administrator under the probate or administration before its revocation shall, notwithstanding the revocation, be a legal discharge to the person making the payments; and an executor or administrator who has acted under the revoked probate or administration may retain and reimburse himself or herself in respect of any payments made by him or her, which the person to whom probate or letters of administration shall be afterwards granted might have lawfully made. An appeal shall lie—(a)from any order or decision of a magistrate’s court presided over by a chief magistrate or a magistrate grade I in the exercise of its original jurisdiction, to the High Court;(b)from any order or decision made in appeal by a chief magistrate to the High Court;(c)from any order or decision of a magistrate’s court presided over by a magistrate grade II to a court presided over by a chief magistrate. The Minister may, in consultation with the Chief Justice, make rules—(a)for regulating the practice and procedure of the magistrates courts in probate business;(b)prescribing the fees and costs payable on and incidental to probate business;(c)prescribing the forms to be used in probate business; and(d)prescribing anything required to be prescribed under this Act. If any person makes in his or her application or declaration which is required to be made or verified under this Act any averment which he or she knows or believes to be false, he or she commits an offence and is liable to the penalties provided by the law for the time being in force for the punishment of the offence of giving or fabricating false evidence. Nothing in this Act shall affect the jurisdiction of the High Court to grant probate or letters of administration in respect of estates of persons having no fixed place of abode in Uganda. Nothing in this Act shall be deemed to preclude—(a)the Administrator General from applying to the court for letters of administration;(b)the court from granting letters of administration to the Administrator General,in any case where the court is empowered under this or any other part of this Act to grant letters of administration to any person other than an executor appointed under the will of the testator.1. Interpretation
2. Jurisdiction to grant probate, etc. of small estates
3. Application for grant of probate, etc.
4. Grantee of probate or administration alone to sue
5. Effect of payment to executor or administrator
6. Appeals
7. Appeals to the Court of Appeal
8. Probate rules
9. Punishment for false averment in petition or declaration
10. Application
11. Saving for jurisdiction of the High Court
12. Administrator General not precluded from grant