Insights
Notes on estate administration, trusts, beneficiary tracing, and the work of fiduciary practice.
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Plain language: how an executor takes over an estate
From death certificate to Letters of Executorship — a practical, plain-language walkthrough of the first 30 days.
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When does a small estate qualify for Section 18(3)?
The Section 18(3) threshold, what changes when an estate is below it, and where the simplified process still bites.
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Independent trustee or family member?
Why courts and the Master have moved against pure family-only trustee structures, and what “independent” means in practice.
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When the will hasn’t been updated: estate planning gaps
The four most common gaps in older wills, and why a yearly read-through matters more than most people realise.
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Tracing unclaimed retirement benefits in South Africa
How the FSCA’s unclaimed-benefits regime works, and why beneficiaries often don’t know there’s money waiting.
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Cross-border estates: what international heirs should know first
Dual probate, foreign-asset accounts, and where South African estate work intersects with overseas trustees and tax authorities.