MOSSEL BAY NEWS - Local attorney Imke Dekker was the speaker at the most recent meeting of the Mossel Bay Alzheimer's Support Group.
The meeting was held at Santos Haven 1 as usual and organised by the support group facilitator, Maria van Staden.
Dekker spoke about the administration of the estate of a deceased person.
She said: "The law governing the administration of deceased estates in South Africa has been developed over a long period and protects both the creditors and beneficiaries."
Dekker said there were two different "types" of estates:
- The so-called Section 18(3) estate. The value of the total estate is less than R250 000. The process is relatively fast and uncomplicated.
- The "normal" estate. The value is more than R250 000.
The administration process is more complex and time consuming.
Some of the things that can delay the estate more than R250 000 are the following:
• The placement of a notice, in both the Government Gazette and a newspaper circulating in the district where the deceased was residing.
This notice calls on creditors to lodge their claims against the estate within a period of 30 days.
• The placement of a further notice (after the Liquidation and Distribution account is approved by the Master) in the same newspapers to give notice that the account will lie open for the statutory inspection period of 21 days at the relevant Master's office and magistrate's court.
• Delays caused by the many different institutions dealt with, such as the Master's office, SARS, financial institutions and so forth.
• Uninformed or unskilled executors and/or estate administrators.
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