Timelines to settle an estate have improved since the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, but are likely to still take longer than before Covid, as delays from the pandemic and other issues persist. One year was a good expectation for a probate where the deceased left a solid will and the estate was managed by an experienced executor, says Angelique Visser, National Counsel at the Trust Institute of Southern Africa (FISA).
However, during the pandemic, terms have deteriorated, so it is common for any estate to take two years to settle, FISA reported last year. The increase in deaths during the pandemic was responsible for much of the delay, but the offices of the Master of the Superior Court (the Offices of the Master) also took much longer to issue the letters that appoint executors, approve the accounts of the estate, and authorize the wealth distribution. assets to heirs.
Bank delays frustrate real estate professionals
FISA recently expressed their frustration with the delays caused by the banks and the banks admitted that Covid delayed them too and they are still catching up.
To liquidate an estate, the executor of the estate needs information about, among other things, your deceased family member’s bank accounts and investments. The accounts must then be closed and any balances or investments transferred to a bank account in the estate’s name. The executor also needs the tax certificates for those accounts to file the decedent’s tax return and the estate statement.
Ian Brink, president of FISA, said banks are slowing down on all three of these tasks. He says banks have different procedures that sometimes change without consulting, leading to confusion among bank staff, as well as a lot of frustration for FISA members trying to help families. liquidate farms.
months to respond
Visser says practitioners can now get an executor letter from the Master’s Office within two to three weeks, but then they struggle for three to four months for a response from some of the banks. She says that she has approached senior management at various banks for help, but there has been no improvement.
Aneesa Razack, CEO of FNB Fiduciary, says Covid-19 has negatively affected industry processes for liquidating deceased estates. In addition to the increase in deaths, there has been an increase in fraud and administrative hurdles that are often beyond the control of executors and/or banks, she says.
Razack says the banks are working through the South African Banking Association with the Office of the Chief Master to address the challenges and minimize the adverse impact on the families of the deceased. FNB is also trying to shorten the time it takes to settle estates by increasing its ability to help its clients and improving processing of smaller estates using digital platforms, he says.
Two weeks to close the account
Graham Mcpherson, director of the Nedgroup Trust, says that once the correct documents have been submitted, it takes 14 days to close an account and deposit the money into the estate account.
The delays are mainly due to outages in the Master’s Office portal used by banks and real estate professionals and the need to obtain all the necessary documents from different parties, Mcpherson says. All of this has been compounded by the high volumes of properties currently being experienced, she says.
During the peak of the pandemic, the Master’s Offices were working at 50% capacity and frequently closed when staff became ill. The Justice Department’s offices and computer system also suffered a ransomware attack in July 2021.
IT problems
The Master’s Offices are now open, but continue to be plagued by computer problems, as heard at the recent FISA conference. Martin Mafojane, the Chief Magistrate of the High Court, said that the Master’s Offices do not have a stable and reliable IT infrastructure, making the offices’ portal unavailable to professionals dealing with inheritance.
He said the offices belong to the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, which has now realized that instead of relying on contractors, it needs to hire competent, qualified and skilled people to provide the tools the offices require.
Lost trust
Bongiwe Adonis, assistant manager of the Magistracy of the Cape Town High Court, said the Master’s Office realized that practitioners and the public had lost trust in it and needed to modernize its systems.
Online registration of deceased estates and trusts is one of the goals, and the goal is to have an easy-to-use system like the eFiling system of the South African Revenue Service, which allows registration of an estate from anywhere in the world. , He says. But we’re not there yet, and in the meantime, members of FISA, the Legal Practice Council and the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants can use a self-help system available at Master’s Offices to register probate, she says.
The Master’s Offices have committed to processing applications registered in this way within 10 days, says Adonis.
Estates that are not registered in this self-help system, for example when documents are mailed to the Teacher’s Office, have a response time of 21 days from the moment, he said. If the deadline is missed, the Teacher’s Office must explain the delay, she says. Information is also being pulled from the Department of the Interior to help identify dependents and minimize fraudulent activity, Adonis says. With these and other initiatives, the Masters are heading towards better and better services by 2025, she says.
Can you help
Both Standard Bank and Nedbank said delays in handling accounts for the deceased are often due to families not knowing what documents need to be submitted, when and by whom. Both banks provide step-by-step assistance to help you understand the process and requirements, they say.
Ross Linstrom of Standard Bank encourages families and executors to contact the bank as soon as possible for assistance and guidance. If emergency access to the deceased’s finances is required, this can be arranged by providing the necessary information to the bank, he says.
