Wills and Estates Roodepoort

Wills and estates work in Roodepoort covers three linked services: drafting a valid will, arranging the wider estate plan, and administering a deceased estate through the Master of the High Court once someone has died. Burger Huyser Attorneys’ Roodepoort-area branch at 16 Galena Avenue, Helderkruin (telephone 011 668 0030, after-hours 061 516 0091) takes instructions on all three.

Why Roodepoort Residents Engage a Specialist Wills and Estates Attorney

A will is governed by formal rules that leave no room for informal drafting. Under section 2 of the Wills Act 7 of 1953, a will must be in writing, signed by the testator, and signed by two or more competent witnesses in the testator’s presence. Anyone who is a beneficiary, or the spouse of a beneficiary, is not a competent witness — the most common reason wills are challenged after death.

Estate planning is broader than the will itself. A proper plan usually pairs the will with:

• An inter vivos (living) trust, holding assets outside the testamentary estate
• Joint ownership of major assets (often the family home), transferring by survivorship
• Beneficiary nominations on life policies and retirement funds, outside the will
• Letters of wishes, guiding trustees without binding them
• Enduring powers of attorney for finances and healthcare

Dying without a valid will triggers the Intestate Succession Act 81 of 1987, which distributes the estate under a fixed statutory formula. In blended families or where the deceased had children from a previous relationship, that formula rarely matches what the deceased would have wanted. Burger Huyser’s Helderkruin branch drafts, reviews and reconstructs wills to close off those gaps.

What the Service Covers (Scope of Engagement)

The branch runs wills and estates as a dedicated service line:

Service	Typical scope
Will drafting	First-draft wills; joint wills; reviews against changed circumstances
Estate planning	Inter vivos trusts, beneficiary nominations, co-ownership structuring, letters of wishes
Powers of attorney and guardianship	Enduring powers of attorney for finances and healthcare; guardianship clauses for minor children
Deceased estate administration	Reporting to the Master, letters of executorship, advertising creditors, lodging the L&D account, final distribution
Trust administration	Acting for trustees on inter vivos and testamentary trusts
Inheritance and succession disputes	Representing executors defending a will, beneficiaries challenging one, heirs claiming from an intestate estate

The Local Filing Layer: The Master of the High Court and Where the Estate Reports

Deceased estates are reported to the Master of the High Court with jurisdiction over the deceased’s last ordinary residence. For most Roodepoort-area deceaseds, that is the Master’s Office covering the South Gauteng region. Roodepoort has no separate Master’s Office — queries and lodgements run through the regional office in Johannesburg.

Section 4 of the Administration of Estates Act 66 of 1965 requires any death within a Master’s jurisdiction to be reported within fourteen days. The Master supervises the executor’s appointment, requires lodgement of the inventory and the liquidation and distribution account under sections 9 and 35 of the Act, and confirms final distribution before heirs are paid. The executor (or an attorney acting for the family) drives the paperwork; the Master raises queries if documents are incomplete.

One frequently misunderstood point is which assets fall outside the estate:

Asset class	How it is dealt with on death
Property in the deceased’s sole name	Reported to the Master; dealt with in the liquidation and distribution account
Jointly held property with right of survivorship	Passes to the surviving joint owner; not dealt with in the will
Life policy with a nominated beneficiary	Paid directly to the beneficiary; does not flow through the will
Retirement fund benefits	Paid under section 37C of the Pension Funds Act 24 of 1956 to dependants as the fund determines
Assets inside an inter vivos trust	Administered by the trustees under the trust deed; outside the deceased estate

The Deceased Estate Administration Sequence

The steps run in roughly the following order. Real files often loop back through earlier steps once queries arise.

1. Report the death to the Master and apply for letters of executorship (or letters of authority under section 18, where the estate qualifies).
2. Open a late estate bank account and lodge an inventory of assets and liabilities with the Master.
3. Advertise for creditors and collect in the assets.
4. Settle the deceased’s debts, including income tax, capital gains tax and estate duty owing to SARS.
5. Prepare the liquidation and distribution account, lodge it with the Master, and (where required) advertise it for inspection.
6. Distribute to heirs once the Master confirms the account, then file the closing documents.

Practical Considerations

Workstream	How fees are usually set	Typical timeline	Documents to bring
Will drafting	Quoted per document; complex structures cost more	One to three consultations to signing	ID, marriage certificate (if applicable), antenuptial contract (if applicable), list of major assets and beneficiaries
Estate planning	Quoted per structure; conveyancing fees separate	Two to eight weeks depending on complexity	ID, marriage certificate and ANC, title deeds, policy schedules
Deceased estate administration	Executor fees governed by the prescribed tariff; attorney fees by time or agreement	Six to twelve months for a clean file; longer with disputes or cross-border assets	Death certificate, will (if any), IDs of surviving family, details of assets and liabilities

Choosing a Roodepoort Wills and Estates Attorney

Executor work is partner-grade work. Criteria most Roodepoort families apply:

• Specialist practice area — a dedicated wills and estates desk, not an add-on.
• Direct principal-attorney access — files run by an admitted attorney with oversight.
• Transparent fees — drafting per document; administration partly governed by the official tariff.
• Local presence — proximity matters for consultations and signings, plus ability to brief counsel in the Master’s Office.
• Memberships and reviews — professional ties and published client reviews are useful trust signals.

Burger Huyser’s Roodepoort branch sits within the Gauteng regional cluster (Linden/Randburg, Pretoria, Centurion and Bedfordview), supported by the Deceased Estate Administrator at head office. Because the firm is multi-specialist, inheritance disputes can be picked up by the litigation and family law teams where a contested file turns into a High Court motion.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a lawyer to draft a will in Roodepoort, or can I do it myself?

South African law does not require a lawyer, but a valid will must be in writing, signed by the testator in the presence of two competent witnesses, and signed by those witnesses in the testator’s presence. Witnesses must not be beneficiaries or their spouses. A drafting error or a witness who is also a beneficiary is the most common reason a will is challenged after death; a specialist wills attorney closes off those risks and gives the testator a properly indexed, signed and stored file.

What is the difference between a will and an inter vivos trust?

A will takes effect on death and governs the testamentary estate. An inter vivos trust is created and funded during the founder’s lifetime and operates independently of the will, holding its own assets and administered by trustees. The two work together: the trust handles lifetime and continuing assets; the will handles the residue.

What happens if someone dies without a will in Roodepoort?

The estate is administered as intestate under the Intestate Succession Act 81 of 1987. The Master appoints an administrator (usually a family member, sometimes a nominee) and the estate is distributed under a fixed statutory formula. That formula may not match what the deceased would have wanted, especially in blended families or where the deceased had children from a previous relationship; a properly drafted will is the only way to override the default.

How long does estate administration take?

A clean estate typically takes six to twelve months from death to final distribution. Delays usually come from queries on the account, disputes among heirs, the sale of immovable property, or the resolution of business interests. An experienced attorney anticipates those pressure points and manages the file so the Master accepts the accounts on first or second lodgement.

What are letters of executorship and who can be appointed?

Letters of executorship are issued by the Master and authorise the named executor to wind up the estate. The will usually nominates the executor; where the will is silent, or the deceased died intestate, the Master appoints an heir or nominee. The executor can be a family member, an attorney or chartered accountant, or a trust company.

Where is the Burger Huyser Roodepoort branch, and what are the hours?

The branch is at 16 Galena Avenue, Helderkruin, Roodepoort, 1724. Telephone 011 668 0030, after-hours 061 516 0091. Open Monday to Friday, 7:30am to 4:30pm.

Burger Huyser Attorneys’ wills and estates practice is run from the firm’s Roodepoort-area branch at 16 Galena Avenue, Helderkruin, Roodepoort, 1724 (telephone 011 668 0030, after-hours 061 516 0091), supported by the Deceased Estate Administrator at head office and the broader firm’s Family Law and Litigation practices where disputes arise. The firm drafts wills, sets up inter vivos trusts, registers enduring powers of attorney, and acts as executor or alongside the family executor on deceased estates reported to the Master. Clients wanting to start a will, update one, or open a deceased estate file can book a first consultation directly with the Helderkruin branch. The firm carries a 4.8/5 average across 250+ Google reviews (Trustindex verified “Top Rated Law Firm in South Africa”) and fields this work across its Gauteng branches.