My Story

On the 13th of May 2023, my husband passed away. This was in a way expected but as all widows, widowers and even children that have lost a parent know we are left behind and we grieve our loved ones. Straight after the loss the nurses ask if you have made plans for your loved one to be moved to a funeral parlor, this is truly a shock on its own. One of our friends was kind enough to give me the number of Liesl Myburgh from LM Funerals, I can honestly tell you that you would get no better service. They were there so quick and gave all the family members saying their final goodbyes the time and space required. Liesl personally came to see me at my house and discussed all options and helped with all the death certificates and other legal documentation you receive. She assisted with helping to see if my late husband had a funeral policy and would have helped with any other policies if that was required. She helped with his wake in the most amazing way. I have mentioned her and would like to add her to “The Widows Web Of Entrepreneurs” as a future reference for help after a loved one has passed.

The will of your loved one plays a pivotal role in your estate. Should your loved one have left a will it will usually be with the executor appointed to handle your late estate or in my case, my husband left his will in our safe. I had to track down his executors.

I called them to notify them that I had his will, they arranged to come and collect the will, however I ended up having to go to them to drop off his will.

The executors then have to apply to the “Masters” office to be registered as the “Executors” of the late estate. During this time, they will require policies, bank statements, vehicle and asset quotes. Your life is put into turmoil, trying to grieve as well as searching for documentation if your loved one did not have a proper filing system.

My late husband’s estate was very hard and tricky from day one. I had an advocate that my late husband had appointed before his passing but to no avail, as all he did was cost me and the estate more money, and I ended up having to move out of my house with my kids as the house was taken by my late husband’s partner, as my husband had no contract in place with his previous partner regarding the house. And my late husband’s estate had to pay out a considerable amount of money as claimed back dated occupational rent. I also paid over reach to attorneys of R80 000.00 that should have been fighting to help me save my home. Be very careful of who you deal with, most are sharks in for a quick buck.

During the time that the executors are appointed, should your loved one have had policies, you will get tons of paperwork to fill in and send to the various companies where the policies were held to have the policies paid out, note that some of the policies will pay to you or your children and that some policies will pay directly to the executors, they will establish a trust account and the money will be held in the trust to pay all outstanding bills.

I was so frustrated and picked up my husband’s phone in tears looking for an answer or just some help. I typed in “Tax” and found a number for Mr. Richard Chapman, I called him and we arranged a meeting. He and Michelle Chapman from Star Mark Financial Services (PTY) LTD, have helped me on this journey. They have a network of people around them that provide the help and services one needs when you quite frankly have no idea where to start. The executors had asked me if I knew an accountant, but I never thought of looking at my husband’s contacts, so they appointed an accountant and she did perform miracles. Thanks to your help Madelein. 

Once the process has started you will have to deal with the fact that whatever has been bequeathed to you will remain the sole property of the executors and as a widow they might start paying you maintenance, in some cases they do not, however as a house executive you do have the right to try and claim maintenance from the estate. 

The executors are to help with paying all accounts that were left by your deceased loved one and to transfer assets into the name of the bequeathed beneficiary or beneficiaries of the late estate. 

The executors will notify you that they are preparing a first L&D account with findings and payments made to the matter of the court. Once this has been sent, they will work on trying to finalize your estate to get a final L&D account sent to the master’s office.

One thing that can cause lots of issues in an estate is SARS, should there be any outstanding bills payable to SARS they will require time to send in a final bill to the late estate. In my case my husband had a penalty and his previous employers had not paid over his PAYE and UIF for a number of years. This caused much chaos as the accountant had to spend hours at SARS trying to sort this out and had to request reductions for his account. Once they have established what is owed. Take note that you have to make sure that the account has been moved to deceased, as in my case my husband remained alive according to SARS for 14 months after he passed away. It is very important to check on the status as SARS will keep charging penalties if they have not requested that the profile gets moved to deceased.

During this experience, I have bumped into so many people that have no idea what a late estate entails and some people have been in the process for up to 10 years. Take note that your executors charge you rates and in my case 3.5%. This all adds up at the end of the day.

Should you not stay on top of everything your estate will take a long time to get settled. Mine has taken 15 months as I have tried to find help from many sources and it paid off. That is the reason I am starting this web page to help guide people and eliminate as much stress as I can.