So what is it? It is An Act to consolidate and review the law relating to inheritance, administration
and distribution of estates of persons who are deceased, minors, persons under
curatorship, mentally incapacitated persons, certified ill and incapable of managing their own affairs, and persons absent from Lesotho without a lawful representative in Lesotho whose whereabouts are unknown; regulate wills and rights
of beneficiaries; and provide for incidental matters.
Enacted by Parliament of Lesotho.
This Act may be cited as the Administration of Estates and Inheritance
Act, 2024, and shall come into operation on the date of its publication in the
Gazette.
Having looked into the scope of application, that being the different situations and social groups to which individuals involved in and affected by the processes governing this law belong to – we now move on to discuss PART V – INVENTORIES
Inventory of estate in community of property by surviving spouse within sixty days of the death
23. (1) When one of two spouses who have been married in community of property dies, the surviving spouse shall, within sixty days after the death,
cause an inventory, which shall be in Form C as set out in the Second Schedule,
of all property which, at the time of the death, formed part of or belonged to the
estate possessed in community between the predeceasing and surviving spouses,
to be made in the presence of two impartial witnesses being persons of good
credit and repute and in the presence of such persons having an interest in the
distribution of the joint estate as beneficiaries or legatees of the predeceased
spouse.
(2) If any property not included in the inventory has, after the death,
been registered in the name of the surviving spouse, the surviving spouse shall,
within fourteen days after the date of any such registration, lodge with the Master, a supplementary inventory of all the property.
(3) The inventory shall be subscribed by the surviving spouse, the
witnesses to the subscription of the inventory, and the beneficiaries or legatees
so attending.
Inventory on the death of persons married out of community
24. (1) On the death of a person, being one of the two spouses married
out community of property –
- the wife or husband of the deceased or in the default or absence of the wife or husband;
- the child or children of the deceased or in the default or
absence, or minority of the child or children; - the next-of-kin of the deceased or in the default or absence, or minority of the next-of-kin; or
- the person who, at or immediately after the death, has
the control of the premises, where the deceased was living or staying at the time of his death, shall, within sixty days after the death, cause to be made, in the presence of two
impartial witnesses being persons of good credit and repute, an inventory of all
property known by the person making the inventory to have belonged to the deceased or to have been in his possession upon the said premises at the time of
his death.
(2) An inventory shall be subscribed by the person making or causing the inventory to be made and by the witnesses to the inventory being subscribed.
Transmission of inventory to Master
A person making or causing an inventory to be made shall, as soon as
the inventory has been made, deliver or transmit the inventory to the office of
the Master.
Inventory by order of Court or Master
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, the Court or Master may, on
sufficient cause appearing and at any time, order that an inventory of any property belonging to a deceased person or to the joint estate of any deceased person
and the surviving spouse, be taken by a person named in the order.
Particulars required as to immovable property
A person required by law to frame an inventory of the property of a deceased person shall include a specified list of all immovable property, registered
in the name of the deceased or in which he knew the deceased had an interest at
the date of his death, and shall insert, if possible, a reference to the title under
which the deceased held the property, the date of the title, and full particulars
concerning the interest.
Executor to furnish certain returns to registration officers of immovable
property
The executor shall immediately after making inventory furnish to the
Registrar of Deeds or other registration officer concerned, a return –
(a) giving the name of a deceased person who, being married in
community of property, had, at the date of death as shown in the
inventory filed, an interest in immovable property not registered
in the name of the deceased person, the date of the death of the
person and a reference to the will; and
(b) Embodying all material information in respect of that immovable
property, and the interest of the deceased in the property, contained either in the inventory lodged with the Master, or in the
will of the deceased.
Having shared the processes surrounding inventories, particularly
Inventory of estate in community of property by surviving spouse within
sixty days of the death, be ready for the next issue as we then discuss, CUSTODY OF ESTATE PENDING ISSUE OF LETTERS OF
ADMINISTRATION.
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