Glossary

The words you meet in a notice, at the Master's office and at the bank. One sentence each, in the order you are likely to meet them.

On the notice

Estate late

The estate of the late person; "Estate late Dlamini" is the estate of Mr or Ms Dlamini, and also the name on its bank account.

Deceased estate

Everything a person owned and owed at death, which the executor gathers, settles and hands to the heirs.

Estate number

The Master's file number for one estate at one office, such as 13360/2024; two people with the same name have different numbers.

Executor

The person or firm the Master appointed to wind up the estate; heirs and creditors write to the executor.

Agent, or "care of"

An attorney or firm doing the executor's work on their behalf, named after the words "care of" on the notice.

Master's office

The office of the Master of the High Court that holds the estate's file, appoints the executor and checks the account.

Magistrate's office

The local court office where a copy of the account lies open when the person lived away from the Master's seat.

Government Gazette

The government's official newspaper, printed by the Government Printing Works; estate notices appear in its Legal Notices A section every week.

Section 29 notice

The estate opened notice (form J193), which gives creditors at least 30 days to lodge claims.

Section 35 notice

The payout plan ready notice (form J187), which says the account lies open for at least 21 days.

The people and the papers

Master of the High Court

The official who supervises deceased estates, trusts and the Guardian's Fund, with an office in each of the main centres.

Letters of executorship

The Master's certificate that names the executor and gives them the power to act; people call it "the executor letter".

Letters of authority

The simpler certificate for an estate worth R250,000 or less, given to a Master's representative instead of an executor.

Section 18(3) estate

An estate worth R250,000 or less, usually wound up without an executor, without gazette notices and without a formal account.

Master's representative

The person, usually a family member, who winds up a small estate under letters of authority.

Will

The signed and witnessed document in which a person says who inherits; the original must be handed to the Master.

Testate

Died with a valid will.

Intestate

Died without a valid will, so that the Intestate Succession Act decides who inherits: the spouse and children first, then parents, then wider family.

Heir

A person who inherits a share of what is left after debts and specific gifts.

Legatee

A person left a specific thing in a will, such as a car or a sum of money.

Beneficiary

Anyone who receives something from the estate, an heir or a legatee.

Creditor

Anyone the person owed money to: a bank, a landlord, a doctor, a friend who lent them money.

Claim against the estate

A creditor's written demand to the executor, with proof, for money the person owed.

Inventory

The list of what the person owned, handed to the Master when the death is reported (form J243).

Death notice

The Master's form reporting the death (form J294), not the same as the death certificate from Home Affairs.

The money

Estate late account

The bank account the executor opens in the estate's name to receive the person's money and pay the estate's bills.

Frozen account

A bank account stopped on notice of death; only the executor, with letters, can have the money moved.

Liquidation and distribution account

The executor's full statement of assets, debts, costs and who receives what; "the account" or "the L and D account".

First and final account

An account that settles the whole estate in one go; a supplementary account follows if something turns up later.

Executor's fee

The executor's pay: at most 3.5 percent of the gross assets plus 6 percent of income earned after death, plus VAT if registered.

Master's fee

A fee the Master charges on the estate, based on its value and paid from the estate.

Estate duty

A tax on estates worth more than R3.5 million: 20 percent, and 25 percent above R30 million, paid to SARS before the heirs are paid.

Guardian's Fund

The Master's fund for money due to children under 18 and to heirs who cannot be found; claimable for 30 years.

Redistribution agreement

An agreement among the heirs to swap what the will or the law gives them, so that one takes the house and another the cash.

Community of property

A marriage in which the spouses own everything jointly, so that half of the joint estate is the surviving spouse's before anything is inherited.

Accrual

A marriage out of community of property in which the spouse whose estate grew less has a claim to share the difference.

Usufruct

The right to use a thing, usually a house, for life, while someone else owns it.

At the Master's office

Query sheet

The Master's list of questions or missing papers on a file (form J84); nothing moves until it is answered.

Under examination

The account has been lodged and the Master is checking it; the payout plan ready notice follows once it passes.

Objection

A written complaint to the Master about the account, lodged during the 21 days it lies open.

Curator

A person appointed by a court to manage the affairs of someone who cannot, such as a person who has lost capacity.

Tutor

A person appointed to look after a child's property when there is no parent or guardian to do it.

FISA

The Fiduciary Institute of Southern Africa, the professional body for people who administer estates and trusts.

Last checked 20 September 2026. The law behind these pages is the Administration of Estates Act 66 of 1965.