KSL ATP Probate

It is part of the Advocates Training Programme at the Kenya School of Law, so candidates are ATP pupils who have completed the requisite law degree and are working towards admission as advocates. Confirm your specific cohort's requirements, exemptions and sitting arrangements with KSL directly.

Expect a mixture of multiple choice, short answer and essay or problem questions, as the syllabus describes. Probate papers lean heavily on application: you may be asked to draft or identify the correct form, advise a client on the appropriate grant, or resolve a dispute between beneficiaries. Verify the current paper structure with KSL.

These are set by the Kenya School of Law and are published on its website. They are not fixed for all time, so check the current ATP examination regulations and your cohort's circular rather than relying on what earlier pupils tell you.

It rewards precision more than volume. Candidates who know the Law of Succession Act and the Probate and Administration Rules well, and can apply them to facts, usually cope. Those who memorise headings without being able to draft an application or advise on a caveat tend to struggle.

Retake and supplementary arrangements are governed by KSL's examination regulations, so confirm the position for your cohort with the School. Do not assume a failed paper can simply be re-sat at the next opportunity without conditions.

Start with wills and intestacy, because every later topic depends on knowing what the deceased's estate actually is and who is entitled. Then move to jurisdiction and grants, administration duties and accounts, the Rules and forms, and finally estate planning, taxation and ethics, which draw on everything before.

Commonly in failing to apply the law to the facts: giving a general statement of principle instead of advising on the specific estate, citing the wrong type of grant, or missing procedural steps and time limits. Sloppy citation of statutory provisions and inability to identify the correct form also cost marks.

Write answers under timed conditions and mark them against the statute and Rules. Practise problem questions where you must choose the grant, draft the application or advise on a dispute. Reading past pupil notes is not a substitute for working through the Act and the forms yourself.

No. It is one component of the Advocates Training Programme. Admission as an advocate, and the right to practise in probate matters, depends on completing the whole programme and satisfying the requirements set by the relevant authorities, including the Council of Legal Education and the Judiciary.