Lawyer's widow loses control of Sh120 million estate

The widow of former Nakuru lawyer Sandeep Manilal Karia has lost control of his estate, estimated to be worth over Sh120 million.

Sandeep, the founder of SM Karia Advocates, died on May 9, 2021, in Gujarat, India.

The High Court revoked the grant of Letters of administration it had solely issued to the widow Bhavna Sandeep on December 20, 2021.

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Justice Hedwig Ong'udi ruled that Bhavna breached the Succession Act when she concealed that her husband left a will, detailing the distribution of his estate.

The will, filed as evidence in court, was dated February 4, 2003.

The Judge noted that Bhavna became aware of the will's existence on November 10, 2021, over a month before the date she was issued with the grant.

"There is no doubt that the administrator (Bhavna) was aware that the will existed but decided not to bring its existence to the court's attention," ruled Justice Ong'udi.

The Judge said the knowledge of the will, whether valid or not, would have assisted the court to arrive at a just decision

Further, Justice Ong'udi ruled that even though Bhavna doubted the validity of the will, it was upon the court to rule on its validity.

"The administrator's acts and her admission amounted to concealment of material facts," the Judge ruled.

She said Bhavna's breach of Section 76 of the Law of Succession Act, warrants the revocation of the grant.

"The grant issued to the administrator is revoked. She, however, is at liberty to challenge the authenticity of the will. I make no orders to cost of the application," ruled Justice Ong'udi.

Bhavna moved to court in September 2021, seeking to be declared the sole beneficiary and proprietor of the estate.

She claimed that her husband died intestate (without a will) and she did not know of any will written about his estate.

Bhavna told the court that as the widow, she was the first priority to inherit her husband's estate before his brothers, nieces, and nephews were considered.

"My husband owned a law firm, two plots, three motor vehicles and he had money in five bank accounts, all worth approximately Sh120 million," she said.

With no objection to her application, Bhavna was issued with the grant on December 20, 2021, by then-trial Judge Hillary Chemitei.

However, her brothers-in-law Nalin Kumar and Sunil Manilal filed a petition on June 14, 2022, urging the court to revoke the grant.

The brothers who are in Australia said that on August 16, 2021, before Bhavna filed the case, they informed her about the will.

On August 25, 2021, they said their lawyers Trainor Solicitors informed Bhavna's lawyer Sheth Wathigo that they would apply for the grant before the Supreme Court in Australia.

"On November 10, 2021, we shared with her the will and reminded her of the case in Australia," they stated.

They accused Bhavna of lying to the court that she was not aware of the will and proceeding with the intestate case.

"The administrator obtained the grant fraudulently by concealing the fact that there was a written will," they informed the court.

According to the brothers, they applied for the grant in Australia on May 27, 2022.