Master's Office clean-up slow

Current backlog with online registrations is 1,189 cases countrywide.

- Amanda Visser

The Master of the High Court in December last year introduced an online system for registration of deceased estates. This was to address long queues and slow turnaround times in issuing letters of executorship or letters of authority entitling a nominated representative to administer the estate. Nationally, around 170,000 deceased estates are registered with the master annually. Since the introduction of the online system, 14,449 deceased estate applications have been lodged with Masters' Offices through this channel. The current backlog with online registrations is 1,189 cases countrywide.

"The backlog with manual cases within the master's offices has not been recently quantified due to the dynamic nature of its operations," said Kgalalelo Masibi, chief director of communications at the department of justice.

Moneyweb recently reported on the total chaos surrounding the winding up of deceased and insolvency estates. Billions of rands remain tied up in unfinalised estates.