When Someone Dies: Reporting the Estate, and Every Deadline That Follows

Someone dies, and within a fortnight the law expects paperwork from the people least able to produce it.

That is the reality of the Administration of Estates Act. A death that leaves property or a will behind must be reported to the Master of the High Court within 14 days, and the duty falls on the family — not on an attorney, not on the funeral parlour, and not on anybody who will remind you.

Most families discover this late. The estate is not frozen because someone is being difficult; it is frozen because nothing can lawfully be done with a deceased person's assets until the Master has appointed someone to deal with them.

This page sets out who must report, what the fork at R250,000 changes, and the deadlines that follow — including one short window that is the only structured chance anyone gets to question the numbers.

Who must report, and when

The Act is specific about whose duty it is.

The surviving spouse must give notice of death to the Master, in the prescribed form, within 14 days. Where there is more than one surviving spouse, they do it jointly.

If there is no surviving spouse, the duty passes to the deceased's nearest relative or connection residing in the district in which the death took place.

And if neither of those produces a notice, it falls on the person who at or immediately after the death has control of the premises at which the death occurs — who must report within 14 days unless they know a notice has already been given. The obligation is built not to evaporate simply because there is nobody obvious to carry it.

There is a further case worth knowing. Where someone dies outside South Africa but leaves property or a will inside it, any person here who has possession or control of that property or document must report the death within 14 days of learning of it.

Where the estate is reported

To the Master's office in whose jurisdiction the deceased normally lived. Not where they died, and not where the family lives now — where the deceased was ordinarily resident.

The reporting documents must be posted or handed in. The Master's own guidance is blunt that faxed reporting documents are not acceptable.

The core set includes the Death Notice (form J294), a certified copy of the death certificate, documentation of any marriage together with a Declaration of Marriage, the original will and any codicils, a Next-of-Kin Affidavit (J192) where relevant, an Inventory of the assets (J243), the Acceptance of Trust as Executor (J190), and, where required, an Undertaking and bond of security (J262).

Gather the will and the identity documents first. Almost every delay at this stage traces back to a missing original will or an unobtainable marriage certificate.

The fork at R250,000

This is the single most consequential number in the process, because it determines whether the family faces the full statutory procedure or a much shorter one.

Section 18(3) provides that where the value of an estate does not exceed an amount fixed by the Minister, the Master may dispense with the appointment of an executor and instead give directions on how the estate is to be liquidated and distributed. That amount is R250,000, set by government notice in November 2014.

In practice this is the difference between two routes:

• Above R250,000 — the Master grants letters of executorship, and the full procedure in the Act applies: the creditors' advertisement, the formal account, the inspection period, the lot.
• R250,000 or below — the Master may issue letters of authority under section 18(3), appointing a representative who can administer the estate without following the full statutory procedure. Faster, cheaper, and far less document-heavy.

A narrower route exists below that again: magistrates' service points handle estates under R125,000 where there is no valid will and the office has no PEAS system.

Two practical points follow. Value the estate honestly before you report, because the figure decides your route. And note that the threshold has stood since 2014 — so estates that would once have been comfortably "small" now cross it on the strength of a modest property alone.

What the executor must then do

Once letters of executorship are granted, the Act imposes its own sequence.

Advertise for creditors. As soon as may be after appointment, the executor must publish a notice in the Government Gazette and in one or more newspapers circulating in the district where the deceased ordinarily lived — and in another district's papers too, if the deceased lived there at any point in the 12 months before death. The notice calls on anyone with a claim to lodge it, within a stated period that may be no less than 30 days and no more than three months from the date of the last publication.

Submit the account. After that claims period closes, the executor must lodge a liquidation and distribution account with the Master — as soon as may be, but within six months of letters of executorship being granted, unless the Master allows a longer period. If assets surface afterwards, a supplementary account must be submitted for them.

That six-month clock is why estates take the better part of a year even when nothing goes wrong. It is not, by itself, evidence that anything has.

The 21 days that most families never hear about

Here is the provision worth reading twice, because it is the only structured opportunity to examine what has been done with the money.

After the Master has examined the account, it must lie open at the Master's office — with a duplicate at the magistrate's office of any other district where the deceased ordinarily lived — for not less than 21 days, for inspection by any person interested in the estate.

And the executor must advertise that this is happening, in the Gazette and in the local press, stating the period during which and the place at which the account will lie open.

Read what that gives you. If you are a beneficiary, a creditor, or anyone else with an interest, you are entitled to go and read the account: what came in, what was paid out, what is proposed to be distributed and to whom. It is a right of inspection, not a favour.

It is also time-limited. Once the inspection period has run and any objections have been dealt with, distribution follows. A beneficiary who waits until the money arrives to start asking questions has usually missed the moment the Act set aside for exactly that purpose.

So: watch for the advertisement, or simply ask the executor in writing when and where the account will lie open. Then go and look at it.

Practical sequence for the family

1. Find the original will — and any codicils. A copy is not the same thing.
2. Get the death certificate, and certified copies of it.
3. Report to the Master within 14 days, at the office covering where the deceased normally lived.
4. Value the estate realistically so you know which side of R250,000 you are on.
5. Do not distribute anything — not furniture, not a vehicle, not a bank balance — before the Master has appointed someone. Assets may not lawfully be dealt with until then.
6. Keep a file, chronologically. Every subsequent step turns on documents and dates.
7. Diarise the account inspection, and read it during the 21 days.

A word on expectations: this process is slower than grief allows for. Six months from appointment to account is the statutory design, not a failure, and the Master may extend it. What is worth chasing is not speed but visibility — knowing which stage the estate is at, and exercising the inspection right when it arrives.

Where to go next

If you are reading this before rather than after a death, the useful work happens now: our guides on estate planning and what a will does cover the decisions that make everything above simpler.

On the tax side, estate duty and inheritance tax explains what heirs actually receive, and trusts covers the structure people most often ask about.

For everything else, start at our money guides.

Frequently asked questions

How soon must a death be reported to the Master? Within 14 days, where the deceased left property or a will.

Whose job is it to report? The surviving spouse — jointly, if there is more than one. Failing that, the nearest relative or connection living in the district where the death occurred. Failing that, the person who has control of the premises where the death happened.

Which Master's office? The one with jurisdiction over the area where the deceased normally lived.

What if someone dies overseas but owns property here? Anyone in South Africa with possession or control of that property or of a will must report the death to the Master within 14 days of learning of it.

What is the R250,000 threshold? Where an estate does not exceed R250,000, the Master may dispense with appointing an executor and instead issue letters of authority under section 18(3), allowing the estate to be administered without the full statutory procedure. The amount was fixed by government notice in November 2014.

How long do creditors have to claim? The executor's advertised notice must allow no less than 30 days and no more than three months from the date of the last publication.

How long should the whole process take? The executor must lodge the liquidation and distribution account within six months of letters of executorship being granted, unless the Master allows longer. Estates commonly run close to that.

Can I see the accounts? Yes. After the Master examines it, the account lies open for inspection for not less than 21 days by any person interested in the estate, and the executor must advertise where and when. That is the window in which to raise an objection.

Can we distribute belongings before the Master appoints someone? No. A deceased estate may not be liquidated or distributed without letters of executorship or the Master's direction.