ESTATE
PLANNING

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Julies Attorneys Inc. is a full-service boutique law firm with offices in Johannesburg and Cape Town.

TOP DECEASED ESTATE LAWYERS IN CAPE TOWN AND JOHANNESBURG

– Report the deceased estate within 14 days after the date of death –

DECEASED ESTATES IN SOUTH AFRICA

A deceased estate consists of the assets and debts of a deceased person. The process of managing and distributing these assets is called estate administration.

Estate administration includes collecting the assets of the deceased person, paying off any debts and taxes, and distributing the remaining assets to the beneficiaries according to the terms of the will of the deceased or in terms of the Wills Act of 1953 if the deceased died without leaving a valid will.

The deceased estate can also be concluded in terms of both a valid will and the Wills Act, in the event where it is found that certain of the provisions of the will are either invalid, vague, in contradiction to the provisions of the Constitution, immoral or if the deceased testator did not allocate certain assets of the deceased estate.

DECEASED ESTATES

IMPORTANT LEGAL FACTORS IN DEALING WITH DECEASED ESTATES

  • Reporting The Deceased Estate

    The deceased estate should be reported to the Master of the High Court, within 14 days from the date of the death. The Master of the High Court in the vicinity or jurisdiction of where the deceased lived, should be approached. A spouse or any close relative or a friend can report the deceased estate. The Executor of the deceased estate can also report the deceased estate, where the deceased appointed an Executor in a valid will.

  • Role Of The Executor

    An Executor is nominated by the testator/ deceased and should thereafter be formally appointed by the Master of the High Court. The person nominated in the will must therefore apply to the Master of the High Court and s/he should receive an appointment letter, before the Executor can wind up and finalise the deceased estate. It should be noted that the Master of the High Court may be decide not to appoint the Executor that the testator nominated or the Master of the High Court may appoint an attorney or an expert in deceased estates, to assist the Executor in her/ her duties.

  • Disinheriting A Spouse

    South Africa respects the freedom of a testator to allocate and deal with an estate as s/he pleases. A testator may however not ignore his/ her legal and contractual obligations and this includes the legal obligations to pay maintenance to surviving children and spouses, who have a rightful claim to such maintenance. The Maintenance of Surviving Spouses Act 27 of 1990 provides that the surviving spouse has a claim against the deceased estate for maintenance until his/ her death or re-marriage.

  • Time Period For Winding Up A Deceased Estate

    A deceased estate can be finalised within months and sometimes it can takes years. Julies Attorneys understand that every deceased estate is different, owing to the provisions of the will, the nature of the assets, family dynamics and more. Julies Attorneys is experienced in estate planning and the winding up of deceased estates.

DECEASED ESTATES

ADMINISTER ANY DECEASED ESTATE WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF JULIES ATTORNEYS INC.

CONTACT THE DECEASED ESTATE LAWYERS AT JULIES ATTORNEYS AT RANDBURG, BRAAMFONTEIN, ROSEBANK, JOHANNESBURG CBD, MIDRAND, BELHAR, CAPE TOWN CBD AND LAVENDER HILL.

You can appoint Julies Attorneys as Executors, co-executors or as independent trustees.

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