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How to report a deceased estate to the Master

By SortMyCover editorial team. Last reviewed . Fact-checked by SortMyCover editorial team on . See our editorial policy.

Your will call is with a will consultant. Lindi sends the consultant's name and firm, with its FSP number, on WhatsApp before the call. SortMyCover does not draft wills and gives no advice. It puts you in touch with a will consultant.

  1. A deathThe family or the holder of the will acts
  2. Within 14 daysReport the estate to the Master
  3. Letters issuedTo the executor, or a Master's representative
  4. Within six monthsThe liquidation and distribution account
  5. ThenThe heirs are paid
The Master's timeline for reporting and winding up an estate.
Short answer

A death is reported to the Master of the High Court within 14 days, at the office for the area where the person lived in the year before death. The family or executor lodges the death notice, the death certificate and other forms. Some offices accept registration online. This is information, not advice.

After a death, one of the first formal steps is reporting the estate to the Master of the High Court. This page is a checklist built from the Master's own guidance.

The 14-day rule

The estate is reported within 14 days of the death. Anyone who holds the person's will must report the death and lodge the original will.

Which Master's office?

The office for the area where the person ordinarily lived in the 12 months before their death. The Master's helpline, 012 406 4805, can confirm the office.

The forms

For a larger estate, the Master lists:

  • The death notice (J294).
  • The death certificate.
  • The original will, if there is one.
  • A next-of-kin affidavit (J192), if there is no will.
  • An inventory of the assets (J243).
  • The executor's acceptance of appointment (J190), in duplicate.

For an estate of R250 000 or less, the Master issues letters of authority instead, and asks for an acceptance of the Master's directions (J155). Small estates and letters of authority explains that route. Faxed documents are not accepted.

Reporting online

Since 10 October 2023, estates can be registered online for the Johannesburg, Durban, Cape Town, Pretoria and Thohoyandou offices, through the Department of Justice's online services. Original wills are still lodged in person.

Telling SARS

SARS asks to be told about the death, by email or through the SARS Online Query System. The estate becomes a separate taxpayer from the day after death, and the executor deals with its tax.

What happens next

The Master issues letters of executorship to the executor, who winds up the estate and lodges a liquidation and distribution account within six months of appointment. What an executor does covers the rest.

If there is no will

Without a will, the next-of-kin affidavit (J192) records the family members, and the Intestate Succession Act decides who inherits. Dying without a will: who inherits sets out the order.

Who can help

The Master's helpline, 012 406 4805, answers questions about reporting an estate and which office applies. An attorney can explain the process for a particular estate.

Where SortMyCover fits

SortMyCover does not report or administer estates and gives no advice. It books a call with a will consultant about a will.

Sources

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