The legal framework
Cameroon applies succession law inherited from the Civil Code (Code civil) in the French-speaking regions and from the common law in the English-speaking regions, in competition with recognised customary laws (droits coutumiers). Two sets of courts therefore coexist: the juridictions de droit moderne (modern-law courts) apply equal devolution, while the juridictions coutumières (customary courts) apply rules that are often unfavourable to the widow and to daughters; depending on the option exercised, the estate goes before the tribunal de premier degré (court of first degree) or the tribunal coutumier (customary court). The case law of the Cour suprême (Supreme Court) has gradually set aside customs contrary to public policy, notably those that exclude the widow. Whether a succession follows written law, custom or religious law depends on the status of the parties and the options they exercised, including the option between monogamy and polygamy made at the marriage; children are equal in modern law, but inequalities persist under custom. A will is allowed, either handwritten (testament olographe) or drawn up before a notary. Heirship is established by an acte de notoriété (a notarial deed recording who the heirs are) or by a judgment; the deceased's debts must be paid before any division, since they take priority over the heirs' rights; and for land, the division has no effect until the titres fonciers have been transferred to the heirs (mutation) at the conservation foncière (land registry). The reform of the Code des personnes et de la famille (Code of Persons and the Family), which is meant to unify succession law, has not been adopted.
In Cameroon the first obstacle is almost never the rule of division: it is proof. Without a death certificate (acte de décès), birth certificates for the heirs and an up-to-date land certificate, an estate cannot be settled, however well the family gets on. The other difficulty is prolonged co-ownership (indivision): a house or a plot left undivided for two or three generations ends up belonging to dozens of people entitled to a share, many of them abroad, and selling it becomes impossible without a cumbersome court sale (licitation). Cameroonians in the UK, many of whom come from the English-speaking regions around Bamenda and Buea, are often co-heirs of family land at home, and without their documents, their signature or a power of attorney for someone on the spot, the family cannot move forward. Whether the estate is settled before a modern-law court or a customary court largely decides what the widow and the daughters receive — and that includes the British widow of a Cameroonian husband. The common-law tradition of the English-speaking regions is a familiar point of reference for British families, but custom applies there too, and the outcome still depends on the court and on the documents.
Each country decides for itself which law governs, and there is no UK-Cameroon treaty on successions or on inheritance tax, nor any EU regulation in play. English law looks at domicile for movable property — money, shares, furniture — and at the law of the place where land is situated for immovable property: land in Cameroon therefore follows Cameroonian rules even when the owner lived and died in London, while the movable estate of someone domiciled in England follows English law, with its testamentary freedom and the court's power under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 to give reasonable provision to a spouse, a child or a dependant left out. Domicile is not the same as residence: a Cameroonian who has lived in the UK for decades may still be domiciled in Cameroon in English law unless he or she has made the UK a permanent home, and a British national working in Yaoundé usually keeps a domicile in England, Scotland or Northern Ireland. How Cameroonian authorities treat a foreign will or a UK grant of probate is a question for a notary in Cameroon; for land, the conservation foncière works with Cameroonian documents. Tax follows its own rules: the UK charges inheritance tax at 40 % above the nil-rate band on the worldwide estate of a long-term UK resident and on the UK assets of anyone else, generally with a credit for foreign tax on the same assets; in Ireland, capital acquisitions tax may apply when the deceased or the heir is resident there.
Key points
| Texts | Civil Code in the French-speaking regions, common law in the English-speaking regions, recognised customary laws |
|---|---|
| Two sets of courts | Modern-law courts (equal devolution) and customary courts (often to the detriment of the widow and daughters) |
| Court | Tribunal de premier degré or tribunal coutumier, depending on the option |
| Widow | Protected by the case law of the Cour suprême against customs that push her aside |
| Children | Equal in modern law; inequalities persist under custom |
| Will | Allowed; handwritten (olographe) or notarial |
| Proof of heirship | Acte de notoriété drawn up by a notary, or a judgment |
| Debts | Paid before any division; they take priority over the heirs' rights |
| Land | Transfer (mutation) of the titres fonciers at the conservation foncière; without it the division has no effect |
| Reform | Code des personnes et de la famille, meant to unify succession law; not adopted |
| British and Irish families | English law: law of the domicile for movable property, law of the place for land, so Cameroonian rules for land in Cameroon; no UK-Cameroon treaty on successions or inheritance tax; UK inheritance tax for long-term UK residents, generally with credit for foreign tax; documents in French need a certified English translation for UK use |
In practice
- Gather the proof first: the death certificate from the centre d'état civil (civil status centre), the birth certificates of all the heirs, the copie intégrale (full certified copy) of the surviving spouse's marriage certificate — it shows the property regime and the option between monogamy and polygamy — and the land certificates. When the death occurred in the UK, the UK death certificate is legalised by the FCDO Legalisation Office for use in Cameroon; ask the notary whether legalisation by the High Commission of Cameroon in London is also needed. Cameroonian documents in French need a certified English translation for UK banks, solicitors and the probate service.
- Have heirship established by an acte de notoriété before a notary or by a judgment, list the assets and work out what belongs to the undivided property of the extended family. Heirs living in the UK can give a power of attorney to a relative or a lawyer in Cameroon: ask the Cameroonian notary what form it must take, sign it before a notary public in the UK and have it legalised by the FCDO. In Cameroon, signatures and copies are certified by local notaries, since the British High Commission does not carry out notarial acts in Commonwealth countries.
- Pay the deceased's debts before any division, then have the titres fonciers transferred to the heirs at the conservation foncière: without this mutation the division has no effect. A plot with no title must be regularised first — without a title no division can be registered and the land cannot be sold.
- Choose the court deliberately and take advice before the family divides the estate according to custom: a lawyer, a clinique juridique (law clinic) or a women's rights organisation can explain how to challenge a division that excludes the widow or the daughters.
- Plan ahead: a notarial will in Cameroon for property there, within the limits of the succession law that applies, and a UK will for assets in the UK, each drafted so that neither revokes the other; a British-Cameroonian couple should also check that the marriage certificate and the land titles match what the wills say.
- For assets in the UK, apply for a grant of probate — or of letters of administration when there is no will; confirmation in Scotland — and check with HMRC whether inheritance tax is due; assets in Ireland go through the Irish probate procedure.
Cost and coverage
In Cameroon, deed and transfer fees are moderate in absolute terms, but dividing undivided real estate costs a great deal of time: valuation, bornage (boundary marking), regularisation of titles. The most expensive successions are those settled two generations too late. On the UK side, add the probate application fee published on GOV.UK and any solicitors' fees, the FCDO's fee for each legalised document, certified translations and, where it is due, UK inheritance tax at 40 % above the nil-rate band.
Recent changes
The reform of the Code des personnes et de la famille, under discussion for many years, is meant to unify succession law; the text has not been adopted. In the UK, liability to inheritance tax on worldwide assets has depended on long-term residence rather than domicile since April 2025; the change concerns tax only, and domicile in the general-law sense still decides which succession law English courts apply to movable property.
Where to go
- Notaries: acte de notoriété, wills, division of the estate; signatures and certified copies in Cameroon.
- The competent court — tribunal de premier degré or tribunal coutumier, depending on the option: disputes between heirs, challenges to a customary division that excludes the widow or the daughters.
- Conservation foncière: transfer of land titles to the heirs; centres d'état civil: death and birth certificates; for Cameroonians in the UK, the High Commission of Cameroon in London.
- Cliniques juridiques and women's rights organisations: support for widows facing dispossession.
- British High Commission in Yaoundé: consular assistance after the death of a British national (no notarial acts in Commonwealth countries); in the UK, the probate service and HMRC; Irish citizens: Department of Foreign Affairs.
Worth knowing
The choice of court — modern law or custom — largely decides the outcome: it is the first strategic decision. But without a death certificate, birth certificates and an up-to-date title, nothing moves before any court. And for British-Cameroonian families: English law looks at domicile, not at the passport, and land in Cameroon always follows Cameroonian rules — an English will alone does not settle property there.
Frequently asked questions
Who inherits in Cameroon when there is no will?
The heirs designated by the applicable law: first the children and the spouse, then the other relatives in the order set by law or by custom. Before the modern-law courts the division is equal; before customary courts, widows and daughters are often disadvantaged — which is why the choice of court matters so much.
Can a custom exclude the daughters or the widow?
Not where the law establishes equality: such a division is unlawful and can be challenged in court, and the case law of the Cour suprême has set aside customs that exclude the widow as contrary to public policy. In practice much depends on the court that hears the case, so take advice before the family divides the estate according to custom.
My father died in Bamenda and I live in Birmingham: what do I need to do?
In Cameroon, gather the documents with the family — death certificate, birth certificates of all the heirs, land certificates —, have heirship established by an acte de notoriété or by a judgment, and give a power of attorney to someone on the spot, signed before a notary public in the UK and legalised by the FCDO; the land passes to the heirs only once the titres fonciers have been transferred. On the UK side, inheritance tax is charged on the estate, not on the heir: it is not due on your father's property in Cameroon unless he was himself a long-term UK resident, but any income or gain you later make from what you inherit counts for your own UK tax.
I am British and live in Douala: which law will govern my estate?
From the UK point of view, your movable property follows the law of your domicile — usually still England, Scotland or Northern Ireland if you do not intend to stay in Cameroon for good — and land in Cameroon follows Cameroonian rules; how Cameroonian authorities treat your estate is a question for a notary there. Make a notarial will in Cameroon for property there and a UK will for UK assets, drafted so that neither revokes the other. For tax, a long-term UK resident who leaves remains within UK inheritance tax on worldwide assets for up to ten years, depending on how long he or she lived in the UK.
Official sources and links
- Services du Premier ministre — official government website — laws and regulations of Cameroon (French version)
- GOV.UK — get a document legalised — legalisation of UK documents by the FCDO Legalisation Office
- British High Commission Yaoundé — consular assistance after a death; no notarial acts in Commonwealth countries