An Executor is the person (or business) appointed to administer the winding up of a deceased person’s Estate. They are ultimately responsible for making sure that the beneficiaries of an Estate receive what is left to them by the deceased. An Executor is required for all deceased Estates.

Instead of nominating in your Will a professional or financial institution as your Executor you can nominate, someone close to you who is not necessarily skilled in the administration of Estates, like your spouse or sibling. If they do not have the expertise required, they will be obliged to obtain the necessary assistance. It is common practice to nominate someone close to you as the Executor for the reasons set out in this article, even if they don’t have the necessary skill.

You may wish to appoint more than one Executor, which means that all those appointed will need to take responsibility for the administration of the Estate.

No person may attend to the winding up (administration) of an Estate except under letters of executorship or letters of authority granted by the Master. In other words, the Master officially appoints the Executor after considering the person(s)/business nominated in a Will (if there is one). The Master makes the final decision regarding who the Executor(s) shall be and will want to ensure that the Executor and where necessary, the people assisting the Executor have the necessary skills to administer the Estate. Although a business may be nominated as the Executor, Master will however appoint a person within the business and not the business itself as the Executor.

There are two ways in which an Executor is normally appointed by the Master.
• An Executor testamentary is someone who was nominated in terms of a Will; and
• An Executor dative is nominated by interested parties where there is no Will.
Both are simply referred to as the Executors. This article focuses on Executors appointed in terms of a Will.

Refer below for the meaning of Master.

The Master is a person appointed by the Ministry of Justice who oversees specific departments located around the country that deal with the administration of Estates (Government department). The departments are often referred to as the “Master’s office” or “Master” and have the role of supervising the administration process from the time a deceased Estate is reported to them until it is finalised.

Generally, adults (person 18 and over) are capable of being an Executor of a Deceased Estate. Some adults however may not be permitted to be Executors, for example, those who are insane, those who are insolvent, and those that cannot inherit in terms of common law, such as the murderer of the person who’s Will it is.

Yes, an Executor may inherit some or all of the assets, from the Deceased Estate, of which he/she is the Executor. In fact ,this is very common and often makes a lot of sense, for example a person may nominate in the Will his/her spouse to be the Executor and also leave the entire Estate to the spouse.

The Executor has a responsibility to ensure the Deceased Estate is timeously would up. The following is a guideline as to the duties to be carried out:
• The death must be reported.
• The Will must be lodged with the Master.
• An inventory of the deceased’s property must be taken and lodged with the Master.
• Application must be made to the Master for letters of Executorship or letters of authority.
• Take custody of the Estate property.
• Provide for the subsistence of the deceased’s family and household.
• Advertise for creditors to lodge their claims.
• Open an Estate bank account.
• Determine the solvency or insolvency of the Estate after the period of advertising for the creditors has expired.
• Proceed to liquidate the Estate by selling assets sufficient to pay Estate debts.
• Proceed to draft the liquidation and distribution account which sets out the asset and liability position of the deceased at date of death, and lodge it with the Master.
• Lodge the Estate duty return. Ordinarily, Estate duty (2020) must be paid to SARS where the Estate has a value of more than R3 500 000.00 (assets less liabilities). Where a deceased leaves his/her entire Estate to their spouse, Estate duty is only payable in the first dying’s Estate if their assets less liabilities exceed R7 000 000.00.
• The account must be lodged within 6 months of the Executor’s appointment or such further period allowed by the Master.
• After the Master has examined the account and found it to be in order, the Executor must advertise that the account is lying open for inspection for a period of 21 days, during which time objections to the account may be lodged with the Master.
• When the account has lain for inspection free from objection, the Executor must proceed to pay creditors, heirs and legatees.
• Immovable property must be transferred to heirs.
• The Master will then approve the finalization of the Estate.

It is a good idea to appoint a family member or close friend that you trust to be the Executor of your Estate even if they themselves don’t have the skills necessary to administer the Estate.

To ensure the efficient and cost-effective administration of your or your loved one’s Estate, it takes professionals with a sound working knowledge and expertise in the winding up of Deceased Estates to guide the process. If your Executor does not have the required skill, he/she may subject to the approval of the Master:
1) appoint a skilled professional (for example an attorney or accountant) as an agent to assist him/her, who will effectively complete the administration process. This is very common and the Will does not need to specify that this is allowed as it is permitted in terms of the regulations (laws) ; or
2) in certain limited circumstances appoint a Co- Executor who may be a professional person or institution. The Will must however specifically state that this is allowed, and this approval is referred to as the power of assumption.
Should your Executor also require other specific services he/she may appoint various specialists for example, property valuators, tax consultants, stockbrokers and Conveyancers. These costs will also be paid by the Estate.

Having a trusted family member or close friend, as the Executor, has many advantages including the following:
• The Executor will generally know how you would like your affairs to be managed. The Executor will have a personal interest in ensuring your wishes are met and your family are looked after.
• The Executor will be able make those important decisions regarding your Estate, as opposed to them being left to a stranger.
• The Executor will be able to select which professionals are to assist him/her when needed.
• The Executor will be able to negotiate the fees to be paid to anyone assisting him/her.
• The Executor will be able to ensure the administration process is complete within a reasonable time.
The Master’s authority is still required where appropriate.

Should you however choose to appoint a financial institution or other professional services company as your Executor, you should also consider the following:
• The Executor will likely charge the maximum fees allowed;
• Your family and other beneficiaries will be dealing with the deceased Estate department within the business, and therefore with unfamiliar people. The Estate department may also be located elsewhere in the country, making the administration process more complex;
• If the process is not administered timeously or certain “unfavourable” decisions are made with regard to your Estate your family and other beneficiaries may suffer hardship.

The Executor’s remuneration (fee) is a cost of administration and is paid by the Estate.
The Executors fee is limited in terms of regulations, in other words there is a maximum amount that can be paid towards Executors fees. The maximum fee is:
• 3.5% of the gross (total) value of assets at the time of death; and
• 6% of the gross income earned and collected after the date of death.
If the Executor is registered for VAT then VAT will also be charged for, this means that the fee payable on the assets could be 4.025%, (3.5 plus VAT) and 6.9% on the income (6% plus VAT).

The fee to be charged by the Executor may be determined in different ways, however it is always subject to the limits above. The fee may be based on one of the following methods:
• as a percentage of the value of the Estate and /or income earned by the Estate; or
• as a fixed charge (not common); or
• an hourly fee.
Whatever the proposed fee is, it is always subject to the discretion of the Master and must be approved by the Master.

Should you choose to appoint a large financial institution as your Executor they will likely charge the maximum fee permissible. You will likely be able to save costs by having a family member or close friend as the Executor (refer above).

If the Executor does not have the required skill to administer the Estate, he/she must obtain assistance. When the assistance is obtained, (using and agent or otherwise) the fee therefore forms part of the Executors fee, which is limited to the amount set out above. This means that the amount charged by the Executor plus the amount charged by the person assisting are added together and this total amount cannot exceed the limit set out above.
Likewise, if there is more than one Executor, the maximum fee payable by the Estate is still limited per above, so by having more than one Executor does not mean that the Estate will pay more.
There may however be exceptional circumstances that require the fee limit to be exceeded, however these need to be approved by the Master. For example, the winding up of the Estate may be very complex and take years to finalise in which case the Master may allow for an increased fee to be charged to the Estate.

Should your Executor also require other specific services he/she may appoint various specialists for example, property valuators, tax consultants, stockbrokers and conveyancers. These costs will be an additional cost to the Estate.