What is a living annuity & how does it work?
7th Dec 2018
Special Voluntary Disclosure Programme (SVDP)
7th Jan 2019
- Establish date of death.
- Lodge the following five documents with the relevant Master’s Office within a reasonable time in order to obtain a Letter of Executorship:
- Death notice
- Original will
- Death certificate
- List of inventory
- Acceptance of Executorship (submitted in duplicate)
- The list of inventory is collated by requesting a certificate of balance at date of death from the various financial institutions with whom investments were held (banks, unit trusts, insurance houses).
- Assets such as motor cars, furniture, houses are to be valued by a sworn appraiser.
- Estates with a net asset value (total assets less total liabilities) of less than R250 000 are handled under Section 18(3) which does away with the Executor having to open a bank account, advertise or account to the Master with regard to the First and Final Liquidation and Distribution account.
- Once the Executor has his appointment, he:
- Opens a bank account in the name of the estate
- Advertises in the local newspaper on the same day as the notice appears in the Government Gazette (Friday). This advertisement (notice) serves to inform anyone who has a claim against the estate that they have 21 days to apply to the Executor for acknowledgement of their claim
- Reports the death to the revenue authorities and finalizes the deceased’s tax from 1 March to date of death. Capital Gains Tax is payable at death
- Pays any outstanding accounts eg. doctor, funeral, etc
- When winding up an estate assets are either:
- Awarded to the heirs eg. the property is transferred into the heir’s name or
- Realised eg. property is sold with the proceeds paid out to the heirs according to the will.
- The Executor drafts the First and Final Liquidation and Distribution Account in accordance with the will.
- The Executor calculates the estate duty due to SARS:
- If the net asset value (total assets less total liabilities) of the estate exceeds R3.5 million, the excess over the R3.5 million is liable for estate duty of 20%.
- Certain items are free of estate duty eg. bequests between husband and wife
- Executor’s fee is calculated per the prescribed tariff, currently 3.5% of the estate’s assets plus VAT.
- The Executor forwards the estate account to the Master with all the necessary vouchers eg. receipts or certificates of balance.
- The Master audits the estate account which may take several weeks.
- When the Master is satisfied with the account the Executor must advertise for the account to lie for inspection for a period of 3 weeks allowing anyone to get a copy of the Will and the account in order to lodge a claim.
- Once this period has passed and nobody has lodged a claim the Executor awards or pays out the heirs.
- The heirs sign an acquittance stating that they have received their inheritance.
- The acquittances and the final bank statements are sent to the Master upon which, if satisfied, the Master forwards the Executor a filing notice which stipulates the completion of the estate.
- The Executor retains all records pertaining to the estate for the prescribed period.
