When a Spouse Dies Without Revealing Personal Information

One of our readers asked what one should do ifto obtain the information. They include:
the spouse dies without revealing personal1. Employer: employers usually have a lot of
information including his/her will, location ofpersonal information on employees because they
personal documents and assets, etc. A spousehandle personal earnings and investments. It is
going to the grave with this information isalso a legal requirement that employers must
definitely a big challenge to the surviving spousekeep information on their employees.
and the family. The situation also provides an2. Friends: Friends may not have your departed
excellent opportunity for the family to lose somespouse's documents but usually they give good
of the deceased's assets to opportunists andinsights into the person's character and where
greedy business partners.they are likely to have invested.
Unfortunately, gauging from the information that3. Business partners and associates
we are always getting in the press and court4. Registrar of births and deaths: The surviving
rooms with almost every prominent person thatspouse and family would need to obtain a death
dies, hiding personal information from families andcertificate from this office. The death certificate
spouses is the norm rather than the exceptionbecomes the most important document for
for Kenyan men.dealing with the deceased's affairs. However, it is
It is when a prominent person or successfulimportant for one to maintain a copy of the
businessman dies that we hear claims fromdeceased national identity card as some offices
children and wives that nobody appeared to knowmay wish to see the document, that is
about when the deceased was alive. Often times,surrendered to the registrar on issuance of the
it baffles how these men live secret double livesdeath certificate.
that their wives and family know nothing about.5. Investment and financial institutions: Even if you
Could it be that the families know but alwaysdon't know exactly what your spouse's
pretend things will work out finally and their fatherinvestment plans were, it is good to know what
and husband will abandon the double life at someinstitutions he/she was dealing with. Such
point and get back home to care for the oneinstitutions would provide useful details of
family he swears to be the only family he has?investments the spouse made but never disclosed
Could it also be that the bonafide families hopeto the spouse and family. Most institutions operate
that nothing can go wrong until they are caughtwith a code of ethics and are unlikely to swindle
by the inevitable? Could it be that those familiessurviving spouses their rightful share of their
are simply ignorant of the possible consequencesdeparted spouse's investments.
of their fathers' and husbands' actions? Whatever6. Personal Lawyer: Your departed spouse's
the case, the truth is that many Kenyan men andlawyer would definitely have valuable information
women die without revealing their personal andand could even be the custodian of your departed
family information to their spouses and families.spouse's will. However, some lawyers have been
So, where does the surviving spouse or familyknown to be unscrupulous. The surviving spouse
begin the arduous task of unraveling theand family should exercise caution to safeguard
deceased's secretes that may determine theirthemselves from being swindled by such lawyers
survival? Elsewhere on this site we have written7. Personal estate manager (agent): If the
on what to do if a close person dies and one hasdeparted spouse had an estate agent, the agent
the responsibility of dealing with the death. Wecan provide valuable information on real estate
shall therefore now deal with what one should doinvestments the deceased had made
soon after the burial.8. Relatives: Relatives may not have any
Unveiling secrets of the departed is a complexdocuments but may provide useful information on
undertaking that requires sobriety, confidence,where certain documents could be obtained from.
patience and determination. Depending on the9. Departed's insurer: The insurance service
economic status of the deceased, it may take aprovider of the departed spouse would have
few days to even years to find out all theinformation in insurance investments of the
necessary information on the person's documentsdeceased.
and assets. The surviving spouse and familyArmed with all these sources of information, a
should even be prepared for claims and courtsurviving spouse and the family will be better
battles from creditors, previously unheard ofprepared to unravel secretes of a departed
families, business partners, extended familypartner. But as the old adage goes, "forewarned
members etc.is fore armed". It is important for both spouses to
There are many sources of information that youensure that they share their lives, including their
may explore to gather information on yourinvestment plans. If one spouse is hiding the
departed spouse and these should be contactedinformation, the other spouse and family
without delay while the memories and sympathymembers should take keen interest in the trends,
for bereavement are still fresh. One shouldassociates and friends of the secretive spouse,
however carry proof of the spouse's death suchalways keeping notes of snippets of information
as death certificate, burial permit, chief's letter,that the spouse or friends inadvertently release.
media death and funeral advertisement etc. TheSuch information, though in bits and pieces may
strongest document is the death certificate. Thebe very useful if the spouse goes to the grave
sources of information provided here may not bewith his/her investment information.
exhaustive but they offer a good guide on how