I am researching a family

An estate notice is a dated public record of a death and of the estate that followed. For a tracer or a family historian it fixes a person in time and place, and names the office that holds the file.

What a notice proves

That a person with this name, and usually these dates of birth and death, died. And that their estate was reported to a named Master's office under a numbered file. It names the executor, which is often the family's attorney.

It does not say who inherited, what the estate was worth, or whether there was a will. Those are in the account and the will, on the Master's file.

Reading the two notices together

An estate usually appears twice: the estate opened notice soon after the death, and the payout plan ready notice months or years later. The estate number links them. This site merges them onto one page when it can match them.

The gazette prints names as the executor typed them. Expect capitals, missing first names, and spellings that differ between the two notices.

The Master's file

The file holds the will, the death notice, the inventory and the account. The Master's office that published the notice keeps recent files; older files go to the National Archives. Either can be asked for a copy, with the estate number and the year.

Older records

The home page shows the earliest gazette held here. For deaths before that, there are three sources. The National Archives' index of estate files. The FamilySearch collection of Master's office records from 1822 to 1990. Older gazettes themselves, back to 1910, which a web search for the gazette's date usually finds.

Unclaimed money

Money due to an heir who could not be found sits in the Guardian's Fund at the Master's office for 30 years. The Master publishes lists of unclaimed amounts, and an office can check a name.

Where this leaves you

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