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Deceased Estates & Administration

Reporting the estate, dealing with the Master of the High Court, and carrying the administration through to distribution — so a grieving family is not also doing paperwork.

Enquire about deceased estates

Winding up an estate is an administrative process that arrives at the worst possible moment. There are forms, deadlines, an unfamiliar government office, and institutions that will not speak to you because you cannot yet prove you are entitled to ask.

Our role is to take that away, and to keep you informed without requiring you to chase us.

The shape of the process

The estate is first reported to the Master of the High Court in whose area the deceased was ordinarily resident. The Master then appoints an executor and issues the letters that give that executor authority to act — until they exist, no bank, no insurer and no Deeds Office will do anything.

From there the executor opens an estate bank account, identifies and secures the assets, advertises for creditors, settles what the estate owes, deals with the deceased’s outstanding tax affairs, and prepares a liquidation and distribution account. That account is lodged with the Master, examined, and then advertised to lie open for public inspection. Only once the inspection period has passed without objection may the executor distribute what remains to the heirs.

Where estates get stuck

Nearly always in the same few places: a missing original will, an asset nobody knew about, a SARS account that was never closed, property that cannot be transferred because rates were never paid, or a beneficiary who cannot be traced.

Each of these is manageable if it is found early. We look for them at the start rather than discovering them at the account stage, which is what turns a nine-month estate into a three-year one.

If you have been named executor

Being named in a will does not by itself make you the executor — the Master must still appoint you, and may require you to be assisted by a professional agent. Executorship carries real personal liability: an executor who distributes an estate before creditors have been dealt with can be held responsible for the shortfall.

You are entitled to nominate an attorney to act as your agent. Most people, faced with the full extent of what the role involves, do.

Process

How a deceased estates matter actually runs

Honest stages and honest timing, including the parts that are not within our control.

  1. Report the estate

    The estate is reported to the Master of the High Court in the area where the deceased was ordinarily resident. Until this happens nobody has authority to deal with a single asset.

    Within 14 days of deathUs, once we have the documents

  2. Letters of Executorship issued

    The Master appoints the executor. Above the Master's threshold this is full Letters of Executorship; below it, Letters of Authority under section 18(3), which allows a considerably shorter route.

    Weeks 4-12The Master of the High Court

  3. Advertise for creditors

    A notice under section 29 runs in the Government Gazette and a local newspaper. Creditors have at least thirty days to lodge claims, and the period cannot be shortened.

    30 days minimumStatutory waiting period

  4. Assets collected, debts and SARS settled

    Accounts are closed, policies claimed, assets valued and secured, and the deceased's outstanding tax affairs brought up to date. An unresolved SARS position is the single most common cause of a long estate.

    Months 3-9Banks, insurers and SARS

  5. Liquidation and distribution account lodged

    The account setting out everything the estate holds, owes and will distribute is prepared and lodged with the Master for examination.

    Months 6-12Us, then the Master

  6. Account lies open for inspection

    Once approved, the account is advertised and lies open for public inspection for twenty-one days under section 35, so that any objection can be raised.

    21 daysStatutory waiting period

  7. Distribution to heirs

    With the inspection period closed and no objection upheld, the executor distributes what remains and the estate is finalised.

    Months 9-18Us

Timings are typical, not promised — every matter has its own facts. What we do promise is that you will always know which stage yours has reached.

Common questions

How soon must the estate be reported?

Within fourteen days of the death. In practice families often only reach this point later, and the Master does not turn estates away for it — but the sooner the estate is reported, the sooner the executor is appointed, and until that appointment exists nobody has legal authority to deal with the assets at all.

What is the difference between Letters of Executorship and Letters of Authority?

It turns on value. Where the gross value of the estate exceeds the threshold set by the Master, full Letters of Executorship are issued and the estate follows the complete administration process. Below that threshold the Master may issue Letters of Authority under section 18(3) of the Administration of Estates Act, which allows a considerably shorter route.

The bank has frozen the account. How does the family live?

The deceased's accounts are frozen on death, which is often the most immediate practical crisis. A surviving spouse may apply to the Master for a maintenance allowance from the estate, and where the couple were married in community of property the position differs again. Raise it with us at the first meeting rather than waiting — it is usually solvable.

What happens if there is no will?

The estate is distributed according to the Intestate Succession Act, which sets a fixed order of inheritance: spouse and children first, then parents, then siblings, and so on. It takes no account of what the deceased would have wanted, of stepchildren, or of a long-term partner who was never married to the deceased. This is the single strongest argument for having a will.

Related work

Talk to us about deceased estates

Tell us what you need in a sentence or two. You will hear back from the attorney handling it, not from a call centre.

We reply to every enquiry within one business day.

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