How does a UK-based executor get recognised to administer a deceased relative's Zimbabwean estate?

When a Zimbabwean who owned property dies in the UK, that property cannot legally change hands until the estate is registered and an executor is appointed under the Administration of Estates Act [Chapter 6:01]. Dying abroad does not exempt an estate from this process, and it does not automatically transfer the house or land to a surviving spouse or children, even if the family assumes it should pass to them. The estate still goes through the Master of the High Court, and a foreign-based executor must be formally recognised before they can act on the estate within Zimbabwe, under Section 35 of the Administration of Estates Act. A will made in the UK is not automatically sufficient on its own to deal with Zimbabwean property; it needs to work alongside the local registration process rather than replace it. Equally, a Power of Attorney granted before death does not survive the death of the person who gave it, so diaspora families relying on an existing PoA to manage affairs after a relative dies will find it no longer has legal force, and the formal executor process must be followed regardless. Intestate succession (dying without a valid will) is particularly risky for diaspora families, because the Administration of Estates Act's default distribution rules do not always reflect what the deceased intended, and disputes multiply where there are customary marriages, unregistered unions, or blended families. Zimbabwean law does recognise unregistered customary law unions as valid marriages for intestate inheritance purposes under section 68(3) of the Act, but proving such a marriage existed is often contested by relatives of the deceased, and there is no mechanism to compel truthful disclosure, which has historically left widows vulnerable to being excluded entirely. For UK-based families, the practical steps are: have a valid, properly registered Zimbabwean will (in addition to any UK will) that names an executor; understand that estate duty questions can differ for someone who has lived abroad long-term, so this should be checked with a Zimbabwean estate professional rather than assumed; and engage an EAC-registered estate administration agency or lawyer in Zimbabwe early, since the executor recognition process and property transfer cannot proceed informally from the UK. Trusts are also used by some diaspora families to protect assets from creditors, secure continuity after death, and potentially gain exemption from Master of the High Court estate duty, though this requires proper registration during the owner's lifetime. Sources: https://www.propzone.co.zw/en/knowledge-base/legal-finance/zimbabwean-property-inheritance-diaspora-death-abroad, https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/safeguarding-diaspora-wealth-zimbabweans-abroad-nyatsanga-pcg7f, https://scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1682-58532025000400002