During a person’s lifetime one will gather assets in other words, belongings such as a house or a motor vehicle. A person will also gather liabilities, in other words, credit such as a home or motor vehicle loan. These assets and liabilities accumulated over your lifetime will form part of a person’s estate. At the death of that person, his or her deceased estate must be administered, in other words, divided, distributed, and controlled by someone. This person is called an executor.
For every deceased estate, whether this is testate or intestate, an executor must be appointed. The executor can be appointed in terms of the Will of the deceased or if no executor was named then the Master of the High Court will appoint a person to assist with the administration of the deceased estate. The executor should obtain a “Letter of Executorship" from the Master of the High Court. The letter of executorship is only granted to persons who have been authorised to deal with the estate, and who have agreed to accept the duties of winding up the estate.
An executor can be an attorney, friend, or family member that the deceased person trusted. The executor will be responsible for the administration of the deceased estate in terms of the Administration of Estates Act 66 of 1965 (“the Act”) and his or her duties will include some of the following:
The first thing that the executor needs to do is to locate the Will of the deceased if there is a Will. The executor needs to have access to the Will, check its validity, establish who the beneficiaries are, what assets and liabilities vest in the estate. The executor, therefore, needs to meet with the family of the deceased to obtain all the relevant information and documentation needed to assist him or her with this process. These documents will include for example, the death certificate of the deceased, bank accounts details, title deeds to property, insurance policy documents and any other documentation that they can find that pertains to the financial affairs of the deceased.
The deceased estate must then be reported to the applicable Master of the High Court in the geographical area where the deceased resided. The executor must provide notice to the creditors (persons or entities the deceased owed money to) to inform them of the death of the deceased. The notice will also request the creditors to institute their claims against the deceased estate within a period prescribed by the Act. The notice must be published in a local newspaper and in the Government Gazette.
All existing bank accounts of the deceased must be closed, and a separate bank account must be opened where all monies that form part of the deceased estate must be invested. The executor must determine if the deceased estate has enough assets to pay for the liabilities that form part of the deceased estate. If there is not enough cash available to pay some or all the liabilities, the executor must consider selling some of the assets that form part of the deceased estate.
The executor will be responsible for the drafting of the L&D account that must be advertised for the public to inspect. These accounts must then be lodged at the offices of the Master of the High Court. These accounts will set out the assets and liabilities, as well as how the deceased estate will be divided and distributed between the heirs of the estate. After the accounts have been approved by the Master of the High Court, the executor must pay the creditors and distribute the deceased estate accordingly.
It is evident from the above-mentioned duties of an executor that this can be a very exhausting and time-consuming exercise for the person who is appointed as the executor of the deceased estate and particularly when they are unfamiliar with the process.
That is why we at Malan Lourens Viljoen will gladly assist with this process to make it as easy and convenient for any person having to go through the emotions of losing a loved one, without having to worry about the legal and practical implications of being appointed as the executor of the deceased loved one’s estate.
Article by Charl Otto (LLB), Candidate Attorney at Malan Lourens Viljoen Inc.
This article is a general information sheet and should not be used or relied on as legal or other professional advice. No liability can be accepted for any errors or omissions or for any loss or damage arising from reliance upon any information herein. Always contact your legal adviser for specific and detailed advice