A deceased estate comes into existence when a person passes away, and deceased estate administration is the process of winding up the affairs of such deceased person.

Unfortunately, in the event of death, life continues and the world does not afford us the pleasure to complete a timeous grieving and mourning process. Although we may not want to deal with mundane administrative matters at such times, our law requires that a deceased estate be reported to the Master of the High Court within six weeks of date of death.

If the deceased person left a will, the estate’s assets must be disposed of in terms of such will. If no will has been left, the assets must be disposed of in terms of the provisions of Intestate Succession Act.

We accept appointments as Executors, and also as agents to relatives or others that may be nominated as Executors by the deceased.

Our services when attending to the administration of a deceased estate are broadly summarised in the following steps:

1. Reporting the estate and appointment of the Executor
2. Publication of Notices to Creditors
3. Collecting information to prepare the Liquidation and Distribution Account (the “L&D Account”).
4. Preparing and filing the L&D Account;
5. Liquidating and distributing the estate in terms of the L&D Account; and
6. Finalisation of the deceased estate.

Executor’s remuneration is determined by tariff in accordance with the Administration of Estates Act, and it    is currently calculated at an amount equal to 3,5% of the gross value of the assets at the date of death,  together with a amount equal to 6% of the revenue or income collected after date of death to date of distribution.