Administration of Deceased Estates

At death the estate of the deceased person is frozen, and no-one may withdraw funds from the deceased’s bank accounts or deal with any of the estate assets without the necessary permission from the Master of the High Court. If the deceased was married in community of property, the joint estate is frozen. This situation often creates hardship for the surviving spouse, especially where the bank accounts were all in the name of the joint estate or in the name of the deceased.

Where the deceased was living in the Republic of South Africa, the estate must be reported to the Master of the High Court in whose area of jurisdiction the deceased was living 12 months prior to his/her death.

Where the deceased was not living in the Republic of South Africa at the time of his/her death, the estate may be reported to any Master of the High Court, provided it is reported to only one Master.

We will assist with the reporting of the estate to the Master of the High Court, and we will provide all the necessary reporting documents.

Upon receipt of the Letters of Executorship or Letters of Authority, we will attend to the opening and management of the estate banking account for you.

We will attwnd to the placing of the required advertisements in the local newspaper as well as Government Gazette

We will draft the complete Liquidation and Distribution Account and obtaining the Courts approvals.

We will also assist to report the deceased estate with SARS, and to obtain the Compliance Certificate.