Can You Sell or Transfer a Deceased Person's Land Before Succession Is Complete?

Author: Gallant Law & Associates · Published: May 2025 · Jurisdiction: Kenya

Legal context: Law of Succession Act (Cap. 160) and restrictions affecting immovable estate property

A parent dies and leaves behind land. One child is living on it. Another says the land was promised to them. A third wants to sell it because they need money. Then someone asks:

“Why don't we just sell the land and divide the money?” This is where families can get into serious trouble.

When a person dies, their property forms part of their estate and must be administered through the succession process. The fact that family members agree that a particular person should receive the property does not automatically give that person authority to sell or transfer it.

The Law of Succession Act gives personal representatives powers to deal with estate assets, but it places an important restriction on immovable property: an administrator or executor generally cannot sell immovable estate property before confirmation of the grant. This means that beneficiaries should be very cautious about signing sale agreements, accepting deposits or allowing transfers of estate land before the succession process has reached the appropriate stage.

There is another common misunderstanding. A beneficiary may say, “But my father told me before he died that this land was mine.”

That statement may be relevant, but it does not automatically answer the legal question of ownership. The circumstances in which the alleged gift was made, whether it was completed during the deceased's lifetime, whether there is documentary evidence and whether the property remained registered in the deceased's name may all matter.

Occupation also does not necessarily equal ownership.A child who has lived on family land for twenty years does not automatically become the registered owner merely because they have occupied it. Conversely, another beneficiary cannot simply evict them because they believe they have a larger inheritance.

These situations need to be examined within the succession process.

If a family is dealing with estate land, it is useful to establish and answer a number of questions: who owned the property at the date of death? what does the title or other ownership documentation show? was there a valid will? who are the beneficiaries? has a grant been issued and confirmed? what distribution has been approved? has the property actually been transferred to the beneficiary entitled to it?

Until these questions are properly addressed, selling, transferring, developing or attempting to take exclusive possession of estate property can expose family members to unnecessary legal risk.

The safest principle is simple, do not treat inherited property as personal property until the succession process has legally established your entitlement and the necessary transfer has been completed.

Where family members disagree about land, getting advice early can help preserve the property while the parties work out their respective rights.

Succession hub: Read Succession & Estate Planning in Kenya: A Practical Guide for Families →

Related service: Family Trusts & Estate Management →

This article is general legal information, not legal advice, and does not create a lawyer–client relationship.