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Frequently asked questions

Estates Planning

What is the purpose of the Master of the High Court?

The Master of the High Court is responsible to oversee the administration of deceased estates and trusts.
The Master of the High Court is also responsible for the registration of any type of trust.
All appointments of executors of a deceased estate and trustees of a trust must be approved by the Master of the High Court.

Who can be appointed as an executor of a deceased estate?

An executor (person responsible for the administration of a deceased estate) can be appointed in a Will of a person or, if there is no Will, be nominated by the close family of the deceased.
As a general rule, any person can be appointed as an executor with the following exceptions:
- a minor child;
- a mentally disabled person;
- an unrehabilitated insolvent;
- the Master of the High Court; or
- any person who –
  - signed the Will as a witness;
  - signed on behalf of the testator; or
  - wrote the Will in his/her handwriting and on behalf of the testator.

What will happen if a person dies without a Will?

If a person dies without a Will, his/her belongings will be distributed according to the Intestate Succession Act (“Act”).
The Act makes provision for a person’s belongings to be distributed to his/her closest family in a specific order, for example:
- Case study 1
  - Charlie died without having any children and only leaves Fiona behind as his surviving spouse.
    - In this instance, Fiona will inherit all of Charlie’s belongings in terms of the Act.
- Case study 2:
  - What will the position be if Charlie was survived by two children and Fiona?
    - The Act provides that the surviving spouse will get an amount of R250 000.00 or a child’s share, whatever amount is the greatest. A child’s share is determined by dividing the deceased estate by the number of surviving children and spouse.
    - If Charlie’s deceased estate is valued at R300 000.00, a child’s share will be R100 000.00. When applying the Act to this case study, Fiona will get R250 000.00 and the children will get R25 000.00 each.

Criminal law

What is sexual abuse?

Sexual abuse is sexual behavior or a sexual act forced upon a woman, man or child without their consent. Sexual abuse includes abuse of a woman, man or child by a man, woman or child.

Sexual abuse is an act of violence which the attacker uses against someone they perceive as weaker than them. It does not come from an uncontrollable sex drive, but is a crime committed deliberately with the goal of controlling and humiliating the victim.

What is the National Register for Sex Offenders and the National Child Protection Register?

The National Register for Sex Offenders (“NRSO”) is a register where a person’s details will be listed if s/he was convicted (found guilty) of an offence of a sexual nature (for example, rape or a sexual violation) against a child or a mentally disabled person.
The National Child Protection Register (“NCPR”) is a register where all persons who are unsuitable to work with children will be listed. A person will be unsuitable to work with children if, for example, s/he was convicted of murder, rape or assault (with the intent to do grievous bodily harm) of a child.
Being listed in the NRSO and NCPR might lead to a person struggling to obtain employment in the future, for example, a teacher who will not be able to work with children due to being listed in the NCPR.