How to Report a Death to the Master of the High Court (Full Document Checklist)

Which office, and by when

The estate is reported to the Master of the High Court for the area where the deceased was resident in the 12 months before death, within 14 days of the date of death. If the deceased lived outside South Africa, the estate may be reported to any Master's office in whose area assets or documents are held.

Reports may also be lodged at designated magistrates' offices acting as service points. Estates that include a will, or that are above the small-estate threshold, are better lodged directly with the provincial Master's office because the magistrate's service point will forward them anyway.

Checklist: estates over R250,000

This is the Master's own published list for the full procedure. Get all of it right the first time. An incomplete file is the single most common reason an estate sits for months before Letters are issued.

1. Death Notice, form J294, completed in English or Afrikaans.
2. Death certificate, original or a certified copy.
3. Marriage certificate, original or certified copy, or other acceptable proof of the marriage.
4. Declaration of Marriage by the Surviving Spouse, where applicable.
5. The original will and any codicils, if there are any. Not a copy.
6. Next-of-Kin Affidavit, form J192, if the deceased died without a will.
7. Inventory, form J243, listing all the deceased's assets.
8. Nominations by the heirs for the appointment of an executor, where the will does not name one or the named executor cannot act.
9. Acceptance of Trust as Executor, form J190, in duplicate, with a certified copy of the nominated executor's ID.
10. Undertaking and Bond of Security, form J262, unless the executor is exempted by the will or by their relationship to the deceased.
11. An affidavit confirming the estate has not already been reported elsewhere, where the death occurred before 2007.

Documents must be posted or hand delivered. The Master does not accept faxed documents.

Checklist: estates under R250,000 (section 18(3))

Below the threshold the Master can appoint a Master's Representative and issue Letters of Authority instead of Letters of Executorship. There is no liquidation and distribution account, no advertising, and no Master's fee.

1. Death Notice, form J294.
2. Death certificate, original or certified copy.
3. Marriage certificate or other acceptable proof of the marriage, original or certified copy.
4. Declaration of Subsisting Marriages.
5. The original will and any codicils, if there are any.
6. Next-of-Kin Affidavit, form J192, if there is no will.
7. Inventory, form J243, with proof of the value of the assets.
8. A list of the deceased's creditors, if there are any.
9. Nominations by the heirs of the person to be appointed as Master's Representative.
10. A declaration confirming the estate was not reported before, where the death occurred before 2007.
11. Acceptance of Master's Directions, form J155.
12. Certified copy of the ID of the person being appointed.

Where to get the forms

All the J-forms are published free on the Department of Justice website at https://www.justice.gov.za/master/forms.html and are available at any Master's office and at magistrates' offices. Nobody should be charging you for the blank forms.

What gets files sent back

• Valuing the assets on the inventory by guesswork. The Master wants a defensible figure. A municipal valuation for property, a dealer or book value for a vehicle, and a bank balance certificate as at date of death.
• Leaving the marital regime blank or wrong. Whether the marriage was in community of property changes what actually falls into the estate, so the Master checks it early.
• Submitting a copy of the will instead of the original. If the original is genuinely lost there is a procedure, but it is an application, not an oversight.
• Forgetting the security bond where it is required. An executor who is not the spouse, a parent, a child or a sibling of the deceased, and who is not exempted by the will, generally has to furnish security.
• Nominating an executor without the other heirs' written nominations, where the will does not name one.

Frequently asked questions

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