Listing a person as “next of kin” when starting a job is common in Kenya, and employees often name a spouse, parent, child, or sibling.
However, the name appearing on an employment record does not, by itself, determine who will inherit a deceased person’s estate.
Kenyan succession law provides specific rules on who may inherit where a person dies with or without a will.
The legal position can also differ depending on whether the money involved is salary, pension, insurance, NSSF benefits, or property forming part of the deceased’s estate.
Next of Kin Is Not the Same as an Heir
An employer primarily uses a workplace next-of-kin form to identify a person to contact or deal with certain matters when an employee dies.
The Employment Act, 2007, provides a procedure for money and property owed to a deceased employee. Section 24 states that where an employee dies, the employee’s “legal representatives” are entitled to recover wages, remuneration and other property due to the employee.
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Being named on an employer’s records and being legally recognized as a representative of an estate are not the same thing.
Administration of an estate involves the succession process and the issuance of the appropriate grant.
The Law of Succession Act, Cap. 160, governs intestate and testamentary succession in Kenya. It sets out who is entitled to an estate where there is no valid will.
What the Law Says About a Surviving Spouse
Where a person dies intestate and leaves a surviving spouse and children, Section 35 of the Law of Succession Act gives the surviving spouse specific rights over the estate.
The Act provides that “the surviving spouse shall be entitled to” the personal and household effects of the deceased absolutely and a life interest in the residue of the net intestate estate, subject to the provisions of the Act.
This means succession rights arise from the law and the person’s status within the family, not simply from the name written on a workplace form.
Recent Kenyan court rulings have distinguished between a spouse whose marriage was still legally subsisting and a former spouse whose marriage had already been dissolved.
In FEO v ACO, the High Court held that a former spouse is not entitled to a share of an estate through intestacy merely by virtue of having previously been married to the deceased.
Another 2025 High Court decision concerning the estate of Fredrick Rephas Omukoko noted that a separated wife may still be treated as a wife for succession purposes, while the position of a divorced spouse is different and may involve claims for reasonable provision in appropriate circumstances.
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Some Schemes Have Their Own Rules
the National Social Security Fund Act expressly uses the term in relation to certain NSSF benefits.
Section 36 provides a statutory definition for purposes of that provision, stating that “the next of kin shall be the surviving spouse” or, where the person was unmarried, the father or mother, subject to the Act’s provisions.
Similarly, a valid will can specify how a person wants their property distributed, subject to the protections under succession law.
The Law of Succession Act sets out requirements for valid wills and provides mechanisms for courts to administer and distribute estates.
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