What Is the Role of a Curator Bonis? | Your Legal Guide

A curator bonis is a person appointed by the High Court of South Africa to administer the financial and legal affairs of another person who is incapable of managing their own affairs, typically because of mental illness, intellectual disability, advanced age-related cognitive decline, or another cause of legal incapacity. The appointment is made under the court’s inherent parens patriae jurisdiction and, where the incapacity arises from mental illness, additionally under the Mental Health Care Act 17 of 2002; it runs as a motion application supported by founding and supporting affidavits and a report from a designated psychiatrist or clinical psychologist, and is supervised thereafter by the Master of the High Court in the jurisdiction where the order was granted. Once appointed, the curator bonis stands in a fiduciary position — they may not benefit from the estate, must keep proper accounts, and must report to the Master on the administration. The appointment is distinct from a curator ad litem (who represents a person in litigation only) and from a tutor (who now generally falls under the same statutory framework post the Mental Health Care Act).

What “Curator Bonis” Actually Means

The term curator bonis has a Roman-Dutch-law origin and remains operative in South African law. It describes a person appointed to manage the affairs of someone who cannot manage their own. The word bonis refers to the estate or financial affairs being administered, as opposed to ad litem, which refers to litigation only.

A curator bonis is always a named individual — a person, not an office. In practice the curator is often a family member willing to take on the role, an admitted attorney, or a professional trustee or corporate fiduciary. Whoever is appointed stands in a fiduciary position: the curator may not personally benefit from the estate and must account for every transaction entered into on the person’s behalf.

Where the Power to Appoint Comes From

The High Court’s power to appoint a curator bonis is grounded in two sources that often overlap.

• Common-law parens patriae jurisdiction — the High Court’s inherent and ancient protective authority over persons who cannot look after themselves. This is the source of the appointment for non-mental-health incapacity (acquired brain injury, progressive dementia without a primary psychiatric diagnosis, certain degenerative conditions, severe intellectual disability outside the Mental Health Care Act’s scope).
• Mental Health Care Act 17 of 2002 — for mental-health-driven incapacity, the Act governs the application process, including the requirement for a report from a designated psychiatrist and the role of the Master of the Mental Health Care Court.

The Master of the High Court does not appoint. The court appoints; the Master supervises after appointment under the framework of the Administration of Estates Act 66 of 1965.

Who Can Apply for a Curator Bonis

Any person with a sufficient interest may bring the application. In practice that means:

• A family member of the person who lacks capacity — usually a spouse, parent, adult child, or sibling — supported by current medical evidence.
• The proposed curator bonis personally, where no family member is willing or available to launch the application.
• A social or health-care professional acting on the person’s behalf, where family is unavailable or the matter is being raised by an institution.

The proposed curator is usually a family member willing to take on the role, an admitted attorney, or a professional fiduciary. Where no suitable family member is available, the Master may in some circumstances appoint a curator in their own right — but the appointment itself still requires a court order.

The Application Process, Step by Step

1. Obtain a current medical or psychiatric report from a psychiatrist or clinical psychologist confirming the person’s incapacity and the likely duration or permanence of that incapacity.
2. Confirm the proposed curator’s availability, willingness, and suitability — the court will not appoint an unwilling or unsuitable nominee.
3. Draft the application papers — a founding affidavit setting out the incapacity, the proposed curator, and the relief sought; supporting affidavits from the reporting doctor(s) and from the proposed curator accepting the appointment.
4. File in the High Court division with jurisdiction — typically the division where the person who lacks capacity resides — issuing the application together with the supporting papers in accordance with the Uniform Rules of Court.
5. Serve the application on the relevant parties — typically the proposed curator and any other interested parties identified by the court — and lodge a copy with the Master’s Office.
6. Hearing and order — the court hears the application. If granted, the order defines the curator’s powers, often in broad terms, sometimes limited by the order to specific classes of transaction.
7. Master issues Letters of Appointment, analogous to Letters of Executorship in deceased estates, enabling the curator to open estate accounts, deal with banks, attend to property, and so forth.

What a Curator Bonis Can and Cannot Do

Authority	Detail
Administer assets and income	Pay debts, collect income, attend to investments, deal with property in the ordinary course of administration.
Litigate on behalf of the person	Where the order confers authority to do so; otherwise a separate curator ad litem may be required for the specific litigation.
Make testamentary changes	No — the person retains capacity to execute a will if competent at the time of signing. The curator’s authority runs to affairs, not to decisions the person can still make.
Benefit personally from the estate	No — any benefit must be authorised by the court on application, given the curator’s fiduciary position.
Keep records and report to the Master	Mandatory — proper accounts must be maintained and lodged at the Master’s prescribed intervals.

Master’s Office Supervision After Appointment

The curator reports to the Master of the High Court — the same Master whose office issues the Letters of Appointment. Day-to-day administration runs under the Master’s supervision, with the curator required to lodge a yearly administration account for scrutiny of income, expenses and capital assets, as confirmed by the Master of the High Court’s Curatorship Section.

Material transactions — sale of immovable property above the threshold set by the Master’s directive, large gifts, or transactions outside the ordinary course of administration — typically require the Master’s prior consent, and in some cases a further court order. The Master may also, on application, reduce, disallow or increase the curator’s fees where special reasons exist, and may remove or replace a curator who fails to perform the duties properly.

The curatorship ends on:

• the death of the person under curatorship;
• the curator’s resignation;
• removal of the curator by the court on application; or
• a court order discharging the curatorship on the person’s recovery of capacity.

Curator Bonis vs Curator Ad Litem

Dimension	Curator Bonis	Curator Ad Litem
Purpose	Administers the affairs (financial and legal matters outside litigation) of a person who cannot manage their own.	Represents a person, an unborn or unascertained person, or a class interest in specific litigation only.
Source of appointment	High Court under parens patriae jurisdiction (Mental Health Care Act 17 of 2002 for mental-health cases).	Court hearing the specific litigation, to protect the litigant’s interests in that case.
Scope of authority	Enduring — manages the person’s affairs until discharged.	Limited to the litigation in which the curator is appointed.
Supervision	Master of the High Court, ongoing.	The court hearing the case, for the duration of the case.
Fiduciary duty	Yes — accounting, reporting, no personal benefit.	Limited to the litigation — duties constrained by the case’s scope.
End point	Death of the patient, court discharge on recovery, or curator’s removal or resignation.	Conclusion of the litigation.

Common Scenarios Where a Curator Bonis Is Appointed

• An elderly parent develops progressive dementia and can no longer manage their own finances.
• A person with a severe intellectual disability reaches adulthood and a family member needs formal authority to manage their inheritance or pension.
• An adult suffers an acquired brain injury or other cognitive decline following a medical event.
• A person with a chronic and severe mental health condition requires ongoing administration of their affairs under the Mental Health Care Act’s processes.

When a Curator Bonis Is Not the Right Mechanism

• Minor’s affairs — the appropriate remedy is usually a guardian under the Children’s Act 38 of 2005, not a curator bonis.
• Deceased estates — executor functions are governed by the Administration of Estates Act 66 of 1965 and the Master’s Office, not curatorship.
• Limited-purpose matters — where a person needs someone to act on a single transaction (a property sale, a single court action), a letter of authority or specific power of attorney may be a more proportionate mechanism than a full curatorship.
• Litigation only — a curator ad litem is the appropriate appointment where the only need is representation in a specific case.

Filing in the Gauteng Division and Master’s Supervision Thereafter

Curator bonis applications are filed in the High Court. For Gauteng-resident persons who lack capacity, the matter runs in the Gauteng Division of the High Court, with its Pretoria and Johannesburg seats hearing motions on a weekly roster. Where the incapacity is mental-health related, the Mental Health Care Act 17 of 2002 governs the procedural pathway; otherwise the application proceeds under the High Court’s inherent parens patriae jurisdiction, with the Master’s Office supervising the administration under the framework of the Administration of Estates Act 66 of 1965. The Master’s Office for matters granted in Gauteng sits at the Pretoria seat of the Division, and the curator reports to that Master as the administration progresses.

Curator bonis applications sit squarely within Burger Huyser Attorneys’ general litigation practice, and the firm files and attends motion court in the Gauteng Division. The Linden, Randburg head office at 49 First Avenue, Linden, Randburg (011 888 0246, after-hours 061 516 6878) is the practical intake point for Gauteng-based instructions, with the Bedfordview and Pretoria-Menlyn branches the closer geographic options for matters centred in the east of Johannesburg or in the Tshwane area respectively.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the role of a curator bonis in South Africa?

A curator bonis is appointed by the High Court to administer the financial and legal affairs of a person who is incapable of managing their own affairs — typically due to mental illness, intellectual disability, or advanced cognitive decline. The curator stands in a fiduciary position, manages assets and income, may not personally benefit, and reports to the Master of the High Court on the administration. The appointment is governed by the High Court’s parens patriae jurisdiction and, for mental-health cases, additionally by the Mental Health Care Act 17 of 2002.

How is a curator bonis appointed?

An interested party (typically a family member) brings a motion application in the High Court division with jurisdiction over the person who lacks capacity, supported by medical or psychiatric reports, a founding affidavit setting out the incapacity, the proposed curator’s willingness to act, and supporting affidavits from the medical reporting professionals. The court hears the application; if granted, the order defines the curator’s authority and the Master of the High Court issues Letters of Appointment enabling the curator to administer the estate.

Who can apply to be appointed as a curator bonis?

Usually a family member (spouse, parent, adult child, or sibling) of the person who lacks capacity, sometimes an admitted attorney or a professional fiduciary where no family member is suitable. The court will not appoint an unwilling or unsuitable nominee — the proposed curator must confirm willingness and competence to act, and the Master and the court will scrutinise fitness for the role.

What is the difference between a curator bonis and a curator ad litem?

A curator bonis is appointed under the High Court’s parens patriae jurisdiction to administer the ongoing affairs of a person who cannot manage their own, with Master of the High Court supervision. A curator ad litem is appointed by a court hearing a specific case to represent a person’s interests in that litigation only, with no broader role outside the proceedings. (See the comparison table earlier in this article for the side-by-side.)

How long does a curatorship last?

The curatorship runs until it is formally ended — either by the death of the person under curatorship, by the curator’s resignation, by removal of the curator on application to the court, or by court order discharging the curatorship where the person has regained capacity and the court is satisfied they can again manage their own affairs. There is no automatic expiry; the curator’s authority continues until one of those events occurs.

Does Burger Huyser Attorneys handle curator bonis applications?

Curator bonis applications fall within the firm’s High Court litigation practice. The firm can take instructions on the application itself, on advising an existing curator on Master’s reporting and on resolving disputes that arise during a curatorship, and on applications to discharge or vary a curatorship. Initial consultations run through the Linden (Randburg) head office or the branch nearest the person under curatorship’s residence.

Need help with a curator bonis matter? Curator bonis applications are substantive High Court motion work, and they sit within Burger Huyser Attorneys’ general litigation practice. If you are considering applying to be appointed as a curator bonis, are an existing curator with a Master’s reporting question, or are facing a contested curatorship matter, contact the firm on 011 888 0246 (after-hours 061 516 6878) or visit the Linden head office at 49 First Avenue, Linden, Randburg, 2195. The firm carries a 4.8/5 average across 250+ Google reviews (Trustindex verified “Top Rated Law Firm in South Africa”) and fields curator bonis work alongside its broader Gauteng-wide High Court litigation practice. Initial consultations confirm scope and fees before any engagement begins.