Wills and Estates

Warwick Wealth has selected Appleton to provide specialist fiduciary services to its valued clients. This month, Appleton Managing Director, Lauren Hean, talks through some of the key points of deceased estate administration.

What is the administration of a deceased estate?

• The administration of a deceased estate is the procedure that an executor such as Appleton must follow after the death of a person and involves the:
• reporting of the deceased estate;
• collecting the property of the deceased estate;
• paying the debts due by the deceased estate; and
• distributing the remaining property to the heirs.

How must a deceased estate be reported?

• A deceased estate must be reported by submitting certain documents (“reporting
  documents”) to the Master or the magistrate’s office.
• Generally, the following reporting documents must be submitted:
• Death notice: a form that contains the personal details of the deceased and must be completed by the person who reports the deceased estate.
• Death certificate: a document issued by the
  Department of Home Affairs containing details of the deceased’s death, such as the date and cause of the death.
• Will (if any): any document that looks like a Will must be submitted to the Master. If there is no Will, the deceased estate will be administered in terms of intestate succession.
• Inventory: a form indicating all property and debts that may form part of the deceased estate.
• Nomination by heirs: a form nominating a person as the executor/representative if the deceased left no Will or the Will does not appoint someone. The Master will appoint a person nominated by the heirs (usually the family members) of the deceased.
• Identity documents: of the deceased and executor/representative.
• Marriage certificate: as proof of the deceased’s marriage (if any).
• Declaration of marriage: a form completed by a surviving spouse (if any) that indicates how the deceased was married, for example, in community of property or out of community of property. Where there is no surviving spouse, someone familiar with the personal details of the deceased may complete the form.
• The Master may request that additional reporting documents be submitted, depending on whether the deceased estate’s value is more than R250 000 or not.
• Remember to always keep copies of the reporting documents to avoid any future disputes.

What happens after a deceased estate has been reported?

• An executor/representative such as Appleton will be appointed.
• If an executor is appointed, s/he can continue with the administration of the deceased estate, which includes the following:
• Collect the property that will form part of the deceased estate, such as any money that must be paid out from policies or money owed to the deceased estate and so on.
• Place an advertisement in a local newspaper where the deceased usually lived, as well as the Government Gazette. This advertisement will inform all creditors of the deceased’s death
  and request them to lodge their claims against the deceased estate (“claims”) within 30 days from the date of the advertisement. For example, a bank’s claim for a home loan.
• Open an interest-bearing bank account in the name of the deceased estate (“estate
  account”). All other bank accounts or investments of the deceased will be closed and the balances will be transferred to the estate account.
• Determine if the deceased estate has enough property to pay the debts that form part of the deceased estate. If there is not enough money to pay some or all of the debts, the executor must consider selling some of the property.
• Once all claims have been received and property collected, the executor will start preparing the liquidation and distribution account (“account”) that will, amongst other things, contain the following:
• property that forms part of the deceased estate;
• debts that must be paid by the deceased estate; and
• remainder of the property, after the debts have been paid, that must be given to the heirs of the deceased estate (in terms of testate or intestate succession).
• If a representative is appointed, s/he can continue with the administration of the deceased estate without having to follow the same formal procedures as an executor.

What happens after the Liquidation and Distribution account of the estate has been completed by the executor?

• As soon as the Liquidation and Distribution account has been completed and approved by
  the Master, it must lie for inspection (meaning that the public can go and view it) at the
  Master and a magistrate’s office for at least 21 days. If no complaints were received during this period, the executor will pay the debts and distribute the property as per the account.
• This includes the transfer of a house (if any) to the heirs, after which the administration of the deceased estate is finalised.
• It is important to keep in mind that the administration of a deceased estate can often take at least a year or even longer (depending on the complexity of a deceased estate).