In most cases, land forms a major component of the asset portfolio left behind by deceased persons. This could be land on which stand residential or commercial businesses, or even both. It could be land under agricultural production. In a number of cases, such land could be held speculatively in the form of undeveloped large tracts or plots held in disparate locations. A major challenge arises where the deceased held land or small plots in locations totally unknown to the legitimate beneficiaries. It’s a lot worse where processes to register such land would have been incomplete. It’s not uncommon for such land to be seized by unscrupulous people altogether, such as the sellers or even friends. So let us beware this danger. No one ever intends that their wealth goes to unintended beneficiaries. It therefore pays to ensure that someone within the family always gets to know the land or plots we own!

Estate distribution

To move land from the names or companies of the deceased to the beneficiaries, due process must be followed. An administrator must be duly appointed whose duty is to ensure that the deceased’s estate is distributed in accordance with his will, and where there’s none, with the agreement of the intended beneficiaries. If the land is to be distributed without subdivision, then the administrator’s duty is to ensure that each of the parcels left behind are identified then move the court to award a grant specifying the parcels to be bequeathed each beneficiary. Once processed by the courts, the awarded grant is used to move the land control board where applicable, else the land registry, to transfer the parcels in accordance with the inventory approved by the courts.

But where there has to be a subdivision, then a surveying process is necessary. This draws in surveyors and associated professionals like planners and, in extreme and rather rare cases where families wish to determine the value of the respective parcels, valuers. In such cases, the administrator or administrators, knowing the sizes of the respective parcels, may move the courts to award each beneficiary a specific size of parcel. Such a grant is then passed on to a surveyor and team to translate onto the ground. Ideally though, it helps if the administrator(s) call in the surveyor before moving the court so that they are guided on the subdivision befitting each parcel. This is because new roads of access may need to be introduced. Other challenges such as unproductive rocky sections, graveyards, quarries or marshy areas can constrain subdivision. These therefore need to be pre-surveyed so as to inform the final sizes of the parcels to be derived. The results of such pre-surveys then guide the administrator(s) to present implementable requests to the courts. Once a grant is issued, actual subdivision then registration proceeds subject to the fulfillment of other statutory requirements and standards.

Contests and disagreements

Where families are in agreement, the process works well. But where not, the nightmare for any surveyor begins! First, you may find that different members of the family opt for different surveyors, without consulting each other, a perfect scenario for unnecessary peer conflict by professionals. It’s not uncommon to find different surveyors appearing on site to implement a court grant for the same family. Where features like rivers or roads exist, many families insist on each beneficiary enjoying some frontage, hence greatly constraining the parcel layouts, particularly the widths. This results in narrow linear parcels at times quite unsuitable for future development. Other common courses of disagreement are features such as graveyards, developed homesteads or water boreholes in which all beneficiaries have interest.

In some cases, the differences over how to treat such features, or the general layout of the subdivision boundaries, gets so intense and protracted that surveyors are unable to proceed. Such proposals can be shelved for years. It’d be advisable for families to take their time to totally agree before calling in surveyors. It’s also advisable to avoid calling in multiple surveyors and save money. If qualified and registered to do title survey, most surveyors will implement a subdivision proposal.

Dated: 23^rd June, 2018