When a loved one dies, your family deserves to receive what they are entitled to — fairly, quickly, and without years in the court queue. AISTAR gives every Kenyan family a constitutional alternative to probate, grounded in the Constitution of Kenya and the Law of Succession Act.
If all the family members who have a right to the estate have agreed on how it should be distributed, AISTAR's Structured Settlement Track gives that agreement legal effect within a 60-day target timeline — without a court application, without a contested hearing, and without the probate queue. A qualified Facilitator verifies that your agreement complies with the Law of Succession Act and the Constitution. The AISTAR Registry then issues a Certificate of Settlement that is immediately operative — banks, land registries, and other institutions are required to act on it.
Where family members disagree about the estate, AISTAR provides two further pathways — adjudication and arbitration. Both are constitutionally grounded and produce a binding Determination or Award that all institutions are required to honour.
For contested estates — no prior agreement needed
Where family members are in dispute and there is no prior agreement to arbitrate, any person with a qualifying interest — as a beneficiary, dependant, creditor, executor named in the Will, or other person with a recognised legal interest in the estate — can file a Petition for Adjudicative Settlement. A Tribunal — an independent, qualified adjudicator appointed from the AISTAR Roster — is constituted within 14 days.
The Tribunal conducts a full hearing: it examines all estate assets, hears from all parties, protects the interests of minor children and dependants, and issues a written Determination within 42 days of closing the proceedings. Every party receives pre-decision notice and the right to make representations before any adverse finding is made.
The adjudication does not require the agreement of the opposing party to proceed. Jurisdiction derives from the Constitution of Kenya itself — from Articles 1(3)(c), 47, and 50(1). If a party refuses to participate, the Tribunal may proceed on the evidence available.
For estates with a written arbitration agreement
Where the deceased's Will contained an arbitration clause, or where all family members have agreed in writing to resolve their dispute through arbitration, the Arbitration Highway applies. An arbitrator is appointed from the AISTAR Roster and the matter proceeds under Part V of the Rules and the Arbitration Act, 1995.
An arbitral Award is final and binding. It is enforceable under the Arbitration Act and carries the same institutional compliance obligations as an adjudication Determination — all banks, land registries, and other relevant institutions that received notice of the proceedings are required to give effect to it.
Where you started in arbitration and want to try settlement, the Tribunal can facilitate a Consent Determination — a settlement agreement adopted as a binding arbitral award — at any stage of the proceedings.
The court probate process is not designed for speed or accessibility. AISTAR is. Here is what that difference looks like in practice.
| Factor | Court Probate | AISTAR |
|---|---|---|
| Timeline for agreed estates | Months to years — even with agreement, court confirmation required | 60-day target via Structured Settlement Track |
| Timeline for contested estates | Years — contested succession causes in Kenya commonly take 3–10+ years | 42 days from close of proceedings; maximum 132 days to absolute finality |
| Access | High Court and Magistrates Courts (within pecuniary jurisdiction limits); electronic filing now available for most steps, but confirmation of grant and hearing stages require physical attendance of all beneficiaries at the same court session — on the same day, in the same location — regardless of where they live; beneficiaries based outside Kenya may sometimes be excused physical attendance but must still participate in the same court session | Nationwide; proceedings available remotely; filing fee KES 2,000 |
| Protection of children and dependants | Court exercises oversight — but only if properly represented | Tribunal's inquisitorial duty — Tribunal actively protects minors and dependants regardless of representation |
| Institutional compliance | Separate process for each institution; banks and registries may require separate applications | All institutions bound in a single proceeding through pre-decision notice under Rule 21 / Rule 63 |
| Pre-decision notice to affected parties | Standard court process | Mandatory pre-decision notice under FAA Act section 4(3) before any adverse finding — a higher procedural standard |
| Verifiable authenticity | Sealed court document; verification requires return to court | Sovereign Hash protocol — any institution can verify a Determination or Certificate of Settlement instantly online |
| Governing succession law | Law of Succession Act | Law of Succession Act — the same substantive law applies in all AISTAR proceedings |
AISTAR proceedings are constitutional proceedings. Every party has enforceable rights — not just procedural courtesies. These rights are grounded directly in the Constitution of Kenya and the Fair Administrative Action Act, 2015.
Every person whose rights may be affected by an AISTAR Determination has the constitutional right to be notified of the proceedings and the right to be heard. This right derives from Article 47 of the Constitution and the Fair Administrative Action Act. No Determination may adversely affect your rights without prior written notice and an opportunity to make representations.
You have the right to a fair and public hearing before an independent and impartial Tribunal, guaranteed by Article 50(1) of the Constitution. Proceedings are open to the public. You have the right to present your case, respond to evidence against you, and cross-examine adverse witnesses. The Tribunal may not restrict public access except on the narrow constitutional grounds in Article 50(8).
You have the right to be represented by an advocate or other representative of your choice at every stage of AISTAR proceedings. This right is expressly preserved under FAA Act section 4(3)(e) and Rule 20(6). Unrepresented parties are not disadvantaged — the Tribunal exercises inquisitorial powers to ensure your interests are protected even if you appear without a lawyer.
The Tribunal owes a non-waivable duty of care to minors, persons with disabilities, and dependants — regardless of whether they are represented. Before any Determination is issued or any settlement is verified, the Tribunal or Facilitator must independently assess whether the interests of children and dependants are adequately protected. This duty cannot be discharged even by the consent of all adult parties.
Every Determination must contain clear written reasons satisfying the requirements of Article 47(2) of the Constitution and the Fair Administrative Action Act. You are entitled to request fuller reasons within 14 days of receiving a Determination. Failure to provide reasons is presumed to mean the Determination was taken without good cause, making internal review or judicial challenge more straightforward.
If you are aggrieved by a Determination or Certificate of Settlement, you have the right to apply for internal review by a Supervisory Review Tribunal within 42 days. The SRT reviews procedural regularity and legal soundness — it does not re-examine the merits. After exhausting internal remedies, the High Court's supervisory jurisdiction under Article 165(6) of the Constitution remains fully available to you.
Plain answers to the questions families most commonly ask about AISTAR proceedings.
You are not required to have a lawyer, but professional advice is strongly recommended — particularly where the estate includes land, company shares, or significant debts. The Facilitator verifies that your agreement complies with the Law of Succession Act and the Constitution, but the Facilitator does not advise individual parties. An advocate can review the settlement agreement before filing and ensure that your specific interests are properly reflected in it.
Yes. The Adjudication Highway does not require the consent of all parties. Any person with a qualifying interest — including a beneficiary, dependant, creditor, executor named in the Will, or any other person with a recognised legal interest in the estate — can file a Petition for Adjudicative Settlement. The Tribunal is constituted and the proceedings continue even if other parties refuse to participate. Non-participation does not stop the Determination from being issued or from binding all parties.
Yes — every bank, land registry, company registrar, and insurance company that is relevant to your estate is formally joined in the proceedings as an Institutional Interested Party before the Determination is issued. They receive pre-decision notice and an opportunity to raise concerns. Once the Certificate of Finality or Certificate of Settlement is issued, they are legally required to give effect to the institutional transmission instructions. Every certified instrument carries a Sovereign Hash that any institution can use to verify its authenticity instantly.
AISTAR is a parallel constitutional pathway — it does not replace the court probate process. The two pathways should not run simultaneously for the same estate. Where court probate proceedings are already pending, AISTAR will not accept jurisdiction over the same estate while those proceedings are active. Where a family decides to switch from court probate to AISTAR, they should formally apply to the court to suspend the probate proceedings — with court approval — and invoke AISTAR. In the unlikely event that AISTAR proceedings do not resolve the matter, the family may return to court and resume probate. Where AISTAR proceedings conclude successfully, the family simply informs the court of the outcome so the probate file can be closed. The Law of Succession Act governs all AISTAR proceedings — the same substantive law that applies in court probate. You are not choosing different legal rules; you are choosing a faster, more accessible forum that applies the same law.
Any primary party may withdraw from the SST at any time before the Certificate of Settlement is issued. When this happens, the SST is suspended. If agreement cannot be restored, the matter automatically converts to the Adjudication Highway — all the preparatory work done in the SST is preserved and available to the Tribunal, and the SST filing fee is credited against the Adjudication Highway filing fee. There is no financial penalty for starting on the SST and converting to adjudication.
The filing fee for any AISTAR pathway is KES 2,000. The Tribunal or Facilitator's professional fee is calculated on a percentage of the estate value — 5% for uncontested matters up to KES 1 million, 1% above that. For the SST, the applicable fee is the uncontested rate. All fees are charges on the estate — they are paid from the estate assets, not personally by family members. If you cannot afford the filing fee, you may apply for indigent status and the Institution will consider deferring payment. All fees rank as administration expenses of the estate under the Law of Succession Act.
Whether your family has agreed and wants to use the Structured Settlement Track, or you are dealing with a contested estate, reach out to Aluochier Dispute Resolution. The first step is a consultation — tell us your situation and we will tell you which pathway is right for you.