Asked by the Customer on 05-11-2022 11:27:51
Question posted in the Property Law category relating to Free State

Good Day

I need assistance with registration and transfer of inherited property valuated at R350 000. The will was drafted at ABSA bank 2013 and it was not sent for safekeeping. We only have the original copy of the will. I'm unemployed how can I get reasonable help from a conveyancer or an attorney or how can I get the Master's office to assist. I'm in Bloemfontein Free State

Posted by Att. Patrick on 05-11-2022 16:55:52

Hi there and thank you for your question,

I am a practicing attorney based in South Africa and I will assist you with your question. Please feel free to ask as many follow up questions in order to clarify your question. If you have a new question, you must please open a new thread.

Please keep in mind that our discussions is for general information purposes only. Our engagement on this website does not create an attorney-client relationship. 

Has the estate of the person who passed away been reported and registered at the Masters Office and has the Master appointed an executor for the estate who will administer the estate late?

Not the nothing has been done at the Master's, they can't help me because the property is valued over R250 000. And because I have an original copy not the exact Will from ABSA. When my grandmother drafted a Will in 2013 the original was not sent for safekeeping so it got lost at the branch.

In the Will I'm appointed as the executer

Posted by Att. Patrick on 05-11-2022 18:52:20

Okay, so because you don't have the original Will you will need to go to the Master and report her estate as intestate and you'll need to complete all of the forms required in order for you to be appointed as the executor of her estate. This is what must happen. It's the only way to resolve things. The Master will appoint you as the executor because the estate is worth more than R250k. We do this every week for clients. So I know what I'm talking about.

Posted by Att. Patrick on 05-11-2022 18:53:42

If you had the original Will, then you would submit that and report her estate as testate. But without the original Will, her estate is intestate. It just means that her property will go to her children (to be shared equally!) instead of to the people she listed in her Will.