Tracking Deceased Estates in South Africa

Tracking a deceased estate in South Africa means following a single file held by the Master of the High Court in the province where the deceased was ordinarily resident at death. The file opens once the death is reported (usually by the nominated executor or a family member) and is allocated a unique reference number in the format NNNNN/YYYY; from that point the file moves through defined stages — appointment of executor, advertisement of estate, lodgement of the Liquidation and Distribution (L&D) account, and final closure — and any of those stages can be tracked by the executor, by an interested party, or by a creditor. Public online tracking is limited: the ICMS Web Portal at the Department of Justice exposes a trust-register search and a public-facing estate notice view, but most granular status enquiries (where the file currently sits, what is outstanding, when the L&D account will lie for inspection) still happen at the Master’s office counter or via the appointed attorney.

What “Tracking a Deceased Estate” Actually Means in South Africa

A deceased estate in South Africa is administered by the Master of the High Court under the Administration of Estates Act 66 of 1965. The relevant Master is the one for the province where the deceased was ordinarily resident at the date of death — not where the executor lives, and not where the family is based. That province, once fixed, does not change: the file lives at one Master’s office for its entire life, and any transfer between Master’s seats is uncommon and only happens on a formal motion.

“Tracking” is not one thing. It covers three distinct audiences, and the practical question each one asks is different:

• The executor — managing the file, watching for the Master’s queries, security requirements, and approval of the L&D account.
• The creditor or beneficiary — watching for the estate notice in the Government Gazette and the local newspaper, and for the L&D account to lie for inspection.
• A third party doing genealogical or inheritance research, who typically only needs confirmation that a file has been opened and at what stage.

Once opened, the file moves through recognisable stages, and each stage produces a document that is the practical “milestone” a tracker watches for:

Stage	Document produced	What it signals
Report of death	Estate reference number (NNNNN/YYYY)	A file has been opened
Appointment of executor	Letters of Executorship or Letters of Authority	The executor has authority to act
Advertisement	Estate notice in newspaper and Government Gazette	Creditors may lodge claims
Inventory and account lodgement	Inventory (Form J3) and L&D account	Administration is in progress; L&D account lies for inspection
Final closure	Master’s authorisation and filed L&D account	Distribution is authorised; file is closed

Which Master’s Office in Gauteng?

Gauteng estates are administered across two Master’s offices — the Master of the High Court, Johannesburg (for matters where the deceased was ordinarily resident in the greater Johannesburg / southern Gauteng area at the date of death) and the Master of the High Court, Pretoria (for matters in the northern Gauteng / Tshwane area, including Centurion). The Master’s office in each seat handles report of death lodgements, Letters of Executorship and Letters of Authority, security administration, and L&D account inspection. The seat is determined by the deceased’s residence at death, not by the executor’s address, and any subsequent move between offices requires a formal application.

Step-by-Step: How the File Moves and How to Follow It

1. Report the death — the nominated executor (named in the will) or, where there is no will, an interested family member lodges a Report of Death with the relevant Master’s office (Form J190 or the equivalent prescribed form), accompanied by the death certificate, the original will (if any), a marriage certificate, and the deceased’s ID.
2. Obtain the estate reference number — once accepted, the Master’s office allocates a reference number in the NNNNN/YYYY format (for example, 12345/2025); this number is the single key used on every subsequent enquiry, document, and SARS estate duty return.
3. Receive the Letters of Executorship or Letters of Authority — the Master issues these once the security (where required) is in place. Letters of Executorship are issued where there is a valid will naming an executor; Letters of Authority are issued where there is no will or the nominated executor is unwilling or unable to act.
4. Advertisement of the estate — the Master requires publication of a notice in a local newspaper and (in most provinces) in the Government Gazette; the notice invites creditors to lodge claims within a prescribed period (typically 30 days from publication).
5. Inventory and account lodgement — the executor prepares an Inventory (Form J3) listing assets and liabilities, and at the end of administration lodges the Liquidation and Distribution (L&D) account, which then lies for inspection at the Master’s office for the prescribed period.
6. Final closure — after the inspection period and any queries are resolved, the Master authorises distribution, the L&D account is filed permanently, and the estate reference is closed.

How to Track an Estate as a Creditor or Beneficiary

For creditors and beneficiaries, tracking is largely a matter of watching the right publications and asking the right questions at the counter.

Estate notices in the Government Gazette and a local newspaper

These are the first public signal that an estate has been opened. A creditor should check these within the 30-day window after publication to lodge a claim against the executor. After the window closes, late claims are still possible but may be admitted only at the executor’s discretion.

Master’s office enquiry desk

By quoting the deceased’s full names, ID number, and date of death, the Master’s office can confirm whether a file has been opened and the current stage. The estate reference number is not always given to a public enquirer — executors and attorneys can usually obtain fuller information.

ICMS Web Portal (public-facing layer)

The Department of Justice hosts the portal at icmsweb.justice.gov.za. The public side exposes a trust-register search and an estate-notice search, but the per-file status enquiry is not fully exposed to anonymous users — most executors and attorneys access the system through a registered Master’s-side login.

Appointed attorney

If the executor has instructed an attorney, that attorney is the practical point of contact for any third party who needs to follow the file. The Master’s office will refer enquirers back to the appointed attorney for detailed status.

How to Track an Estate as the Executor or Attorney

The appointed attorney and executor hold the active file and can request a status update at the Master’s office counter, by telephone, or by written enquiry referencing the estate number. Status updates typically cover:

• Outstanding queries from the Master
• Security requirements still to be lodged
• Advertising confirmations
• Whether the L&D account has been approved
• Any objections still on record

The Master’s office issues a First and Final (or First Supplementary) Liquidation and Distribution account. Once approved and the inspection period has expired without objection, the file moves to closure.

Where the file is delayed (security pending, advertisement outstanding, queries unresolved), the practical remedy is a written enquiry to the Master’s office and, in persistent cases, a written motivation through the executor’s attorney.

Tracking Estate Duty (the SARS Side, Separate from the Master)

Estate duty is administered by SARS under the Estate Duty Act 45 of 1955, not by the Master, but the Master’s appointment of the executor triggers the duty process. The executor must file the Estate Duty Return (Form REV267) within twelve months of the date of death (or such longer period as SARS may allow on motivated application).

The executor can track the SARS-side status by contacting SARS directly or through eFiling using the estate reference number. An Estate Duty Receipt (the “ITREG” receipt) is issued by SARS once duty has been settled — and this receipt is required before the Master will release any immovable property or large financial distributions.

Common Reasons an Estate File Gets Stuck (and What to Do)

Sticking point	Why it delays the file	Practical fix
Outstanding security	The Master requires the executor to lodge security (a bond or guarantee) where the estate exceeds a statutory threshold.	Lodge the required bond or guarantee; the file moves once security is in place.
Advertisement not placed	The executor has not yet placed the required newspaper / Gazette advertisement.	Place the advertisement and lodge proof with the Master’s office.
L&D account queries	A creditor’s objection or a Master’s office query will hold the L&D account.	Resolve or withdraw the objection; respond to the Master’s queries.
Missing documents	Incomplete inventories, missing valuations, or untraced heirs are recurring delay sources.	Complete the inventory; obtain valuations; trace or publish for untraced heirs.
Interim accounts	For estates that take more than twelve months to wind up, the Master requires Interim L&D accounts, which reset the inspection cycle.	Lodge interim accounts as the Master directs; expect the timeline to extend.

What to Look for When Engaging a Practitioner for Estate Tracking

• Deceased estates experience — track-record with the specific Master’s office in question (Pretoria, Johannesburg, Cape Town) matters because practice varies between seats.
• Direct Master’s-office access — a practitioner with established working relationships at the relevant Master’s counter moves files faster than one who has to learn the local process.
• Transparent status reporting — the practitioner should give a defined update cadence (typically monthly during active administration) rather than only responding on enquiry.
• Cross-discipline capacity — estate files often need tax (estate duty), property (transfer of fixed property), and litigation (disputes) input; a firm that handles all three in-house compresses the timeline.

Burger Huyser Attorneys’ Wills & Estates practice runs deceased estate administration across Gauteng through both Master’s seats; Anna-Mi Nel (Director and Head of Family Law Department) and the firm’s dedicated Deceased Estate Administrator (Lance Pearson) support executors and families through the Johannesburg and Pretoria Master’s offices, with the head office in Linden (011 888 0246) the practical first point of contact for Johannesburg-seat files and the Pretoria (Menlyn) branch (012 471 5700) for Pretoria-seat files.

Practical Considerations: Cost, Timeline, What to Bring

Item	Detail
Executor fees	Statutorily capped under the Administration of Estates Act — calculated at 3.5% of the gross value of the estate (with sliding scales above) plus VAT where the executor is a VAT vendor.
Attorney fees	Typically charged on an hourly or fixed-fee basis depending on complexity; fees are quoted per file after review.
Timeline (clean estate)	A valid will, full cooperation from heirs, and no estate duty liability ordinarily winds up in 9–14 months.
Timeline (complex estate)	Cross-border assets, disputed claims, or estate duty objections can run 18–24 months or longer.

What to bring to an executor’s first consultation

• The death certificate
• The original will (if any)
• A marriage certificate (or divorce order / death certificate of a predeceased spouse)
• The deceased’s ID
• A list of known assets and liabilities
• The contact details of all heirs and beneficiaries named in the will

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I find out if a deceased estate has been opened in South Africa?

Check the Government Gazette and a local newspaper for the Master’s estate notice; or visit the Master’s office in the province where the deceased was ordinarily resident with the deceased’s ID number and date of death — the office can confirm whether a file has been opened. Public online tracking via the ICMS Web Portal (icmsweb.justice.gov.za) is limited to estate-notice views and trust-register searches, so a counter enquiry remains the most reliable route.

What is an estate reference number and how do I get one?

The estate reference number is the unique identifier allocated by the Master’s office once a Report of Death has been lodged — typically in the format NNNNN/YYYY (for example, 12345/2025). It is not given to the public by default; the appointed executor or attorney receives it and uses it on every subsequent document filed with the Master and with SARS.

Can a creditor track when the executor will pay out?

Indirectly, yes — by tracking the publication of the L&D account. Once the executor lodges the L&D account, it lies for inspection at the Master’s office for a prescribed period (typically 30 days). After that period, and once any queries are resolved, the Master authorises distribution; creditors can confirm the L&D account stage at the Master’s office counter.

How long does it take to wind up a deceased estate in South Africa?

A clean estate with a valid will and no estate duty complications typically winds up in 9–14 months from report of death to final distribution. Complex estates — cross-border assets, disputed wills, large or illiquid property holdings, or estate duty objections — commonly run 18–24 months or longer.

What is the difference between Letters of Executorship and Letters of Authority?

Letters of Executorship are issued by the Master where there is a valid will naming an executor who is willing and able to act. Letters of Authority are issued where there is no valid will (intestate estate) or where the executor named in the will is unwilling, unable, or has died; in those cases the Master appoints a competent person (often a family member or an attorney) to administer the estate.

Does tracking online via the ICMS Web Portal show me the same detail as the Master’s office counter?

Not currently — the public-facing ICMS Web Portal exposes estate-notice views and a trust-register search, but per-file status detail (where the file sits, what is outstanding, when the L&D account will be lodged) is not generally available to anonymous public users. For full status, an executor or attorney with Master’s-side access, or an enquiry at the Master’s office counter, is still the practical route.

Tracking an estate through the Master’s office is one thing; running the administration is another. If you are an executor, beneficiary, or creditor who needs help with the substantive administration — Letters of Executorship, the L&D account, estate duty, or winding up the file — Burger Huyser Attorneys’ Wills & Estates practice handles deceased estates across Gauteng through the Johannesburg and Pretoria Master’s offices. Reach the head office in Linden on 011 888 0246 or the Pretoria (Menlyn) branch on 012 471 5700 to talk through your situation; the firm carries a 4.8/5 average across 250+ Google reviews (Trustindex verified “Top Rated Law Firm in South Africa”).