Administrators' duties and the two-year grant limit in Uganda
In brief
An administrator (or executor) must exhibit in court a full and true inventory of the estate within six months of the grant and an account of how the assets were applied within one year (Succession Act, Cap. 268 (2023 Revision), s.273). Since the 2022 reforms, the grant itself is time-limited: letters of administration and probate are valid for a maximum of two years, extendable by the court (ss.255–256), and grants issued before 31 May 2022 ran on a transitional timetable (s.337). Breach is not cosmetic — failure to file the inventory or account is a ground for revoking the grant (s.230).
1. Governing law
The grant is issued on a statutory undertaking, recited in the grant itself, to administer the property, exhibit a full and true inventory within six months and render a true account within one year (s.256(1)). Section 273 spells out the duty: the inventory covers all property, credits and debts the administrator is entitled to in that character, and the account shows the assets received and how they were applied or disposed of, with the court able to extend either deadline. Administration is no longer open-ended: a grant of letters of administration is valid for not more than two years (s.256(2)), as is a grant of probate (s.255(2)), each extendable by the court; grants issued by a court before 31 May 2022 remained in force for three years from that date — five years for Administrator General grants — extendable (s.337). Only the grant-holder may sue or otherwise act as the deceased's representative (s.261). The enforcement backdrop: revocation for just cause includes failure to exhibit the inventory or account and administration in disregard of the estate (s.230), and an administrator who exceeds or abuses the role can face the intermeddling and fraud provisions (ss.265, 230(3)-(4)). Statutory text verified against the consolidated Laws of Uganda as at 31 December 2023. Sourced from the Uganda Legal Information Institute (ulii.org).
2. Key statutes & rules
- Succession Act, Cap. 268 (2023 Revision) — s.273 (inventory within six months; account within one year; court may extend); s.256(1) (the grant's undertaking); s.256(2)-(3) (letters valid for a maximum of two years, extendable); s.255(2)-(3) (probate likewise); s.337 (transitional validity of pre-31 May 2022 grants: three years from that date, five for Administrator General grants); s.261 (only the grant-holder may sue as representative); s.230 (revocation for just cause, including inventory/account defaults).
3. Practical guidance
Open an estate file on day one: assets, credits, debts, documents — the six-month inventory deadline starts at the grant (s.273).
Diarise three dates at the grant: inventory (six months), account (one year), and expiry of the grant itself (two years).
Apply to the granting court for extensions before a deadline passes, not after (ss.273, 256(3)).
Keep estate money separate and document every application of assets — the account must show what came in and how it was applied (s.273).
If your grant predates 31 May 2022, check the transitional timetable in s.337 and seek extension if administration is incomplete.
Sue and defend in your own name as grant-holder (s.261) — beneficiaries cannot litigate the estate's claims themselves.
This note is a practitioner orientation, not legal advice, and does not create an advocate–client relationship. Ugandan law changes and chapter and section numbers were revised in the 2023 Laws of Uganda. Verify every statute, rule and authority against the current primary source — and the specific facts of your matter — before filing or relying on it.