When a loved one passes away, the world does not wait for us to come to terms with the change. Mercilessly, it carries us forward in the daily flow.
Although we may not want to consider such mundane issues as the winding-up of the deceased estate, parties are compelled by law to have the deceased estate reported to the Master of the High Court, in whose area the deceased usually resided, within six (6) weeks of date of death.
The Administration of Deceased Estates Act makes provision for the appointment of an executor from the ranks of the deceased’s family. However, it is advisable to rather appoint an attorney as executor or at least as co-executor with a family member to wind-up the estate. The reason for this is quite simple – attorneys deal with the legalities of actions on a daily basis and are well equipped to deal with complications and other difficulties which may arise in the winding-up of a deceased estate.
Where an attorney acts as executor or duly authorised representative of the executor, it gives the family distance from what can be a very emotional process.
Paying an attorney his fee to assist in winding-up of the deceased estate will be money well spent in the long run.