How to apply for probate of a will in Uganda
In brief
Probate is the court's certification of a will and of the executor's authority to administer the estate. Under the Succession Act, Cap. 268 (2023 Revision), probate can be granted only to an executor appointed by the will (s.178), and not to a minor or a person with mental illness (s.180). The executor petitions the court with the will annexed, stating the prescribed particulars (s.240); the petition is subscribed and verified, and also verified by a witness to the will where one is available (ss.243-244). The grant issues under the seal of the court (s.255) and is valid for a maximum of two years, extendable, with duties to file an inventory within six months and an account within one year.
1. Governing law
Probate proves the will and clothes the executor with authority. It can be granted only to an executor appointed by the will, whether the appointment is express or by necessary implication (ss.178-179), and cannot be granted to a minor or a person with a mental illness; the court also has a discretion to refuse or defer where an applicant is not fit and proper (s.180). The application is by petition, distinctly written in English with the will annexed, stating the time of the testator's death, that the annexed writing is the last will and was duly executed, the assets likely to come to the petitioner, and that the petitioner is the executor named in the will (s.240). The petition must be subscribed by the petitioner (and any advocate) and verified (s.243), and where the application is for probate it must also be verified by at least one of the witnesses to the will, when procurable (s.244). Unlike an applicant for letters of administration, an executor named in the will does not need the Administrator General's clearance (Administrator General's Act, Cap. 264, s.5(1)). On being satisfied, the judge, Chief Magistrate or Magistrate grants probate under the seal of the court (s.255), the executor undertaking to exhibit a full inventory within six months and render an account within one year; the grant of probate is valid for not more than two years and is extendable by the court (s.255(2)-(3)). A person wishing to object before a grant issues may lodge a caveat (ss.249-252). 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.178 (probate only to an executor appointed by the will); s.179 (appointment express or by necessary implication); s.180 (not to a minor or person with mental illness; court's fit-and-proper discretion); s.240 (petition for probate: English, will annexed, prescribed contents); s.243 (petition subscribed and verified); s.244 (verification by a witness to the will when procurable); s.255 (grant of probate under seal; inventory within six months, account within one year; valid for a maximum of two years, extendable); ss.249-252 (caveats against a grant).
- Administrator General's Act, Cap. 264 (2023 Revision) — s.5(1) (an executor appointed by the will is exempt from the Administrator General notice required of other applicants).
3. Practical guidance
Confirm you are the executor named in the will and are eligible — probate goes only to a named executor and not to a minor or a person with mental illness (ss.178, 180).
Locate the original will and, where possible, a witness to it; the probate petition must be verified by an attesting witness when one is procurable (s.244).
Prepare the petition in English with the will annexed, stating the date of death, that it is the last will duly executed, the likely assets and your appointment as executor (s.240).
Subscribe and verify the petition (s.243); file it in the court with jurisdiction over the estate's value and the deceased's fixed place of abode.
On the grant, give the undertakings recited in it — file the inventory within six months and the account within one year (s.255).
Diarise the grant's two-year validity and apply to extend before it lapses if administration is incomplete (s.255(2)-(3)).
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.