In this type of estate, a Letter of Executorship is issues by the Master of the High Court. 

Once the Letter of Executorship has been issues, the executor can approach financial institutions where the deceased might have bank accounts, investments, policies etc, for closure of any or all accounts, and for payments of any credit balances to be made to estate late bank account (which will be opened by the executor). Once all the funds have been received, it will be distributed to the heirs/beneficiaries by the executor in terms of the Last Will and Testament of the deceased, together with any other assets which the deceased might have bequeathed to an heir.

In an estate with a value over the abovementioned amount, the death must be advertised in the local newspaper where the deceased resided, as well as in the Government Gazette. 

In an estate where the value of the estate is above R250 000, the executor needs to draw a Liquidation and Distribution Account, after all funds have been paid to the estate late bank account.

The costs in this type of estate will be more, as there will be advertising costs, Master’s Fees and Executor’s Fee.

Should the deceased have fixed property, which is bequeathed to a beneficiary, then transfer costs will also be payable, as the property will have to be transferred to the beneficiary.

An agreed fee can be charged by the Executor for the administration of the estate.

The documents which the executor will need to report the estate to the Master, is enclosed below as “Documents Needed To Report A Deceased Estate To Master”.