Letter of Authority
The Master's shorter appointment, for an estate whose gross value is R250 000 or less.
What is a Letter of Authority?
A Letter of Authority is the document the Master of the High Court issues under section 18(3) of the Administration of Estates Act 66 of 1965. Where the gross value of the estate is R250 000 or less, the Master can dispense with a full appointment and name a representative instead. The requirements are lighter and the estate can usually be wound up more quickly.
Like Letters of Executorship, it comes from the Master, and it is what proves someone may act for the estate. Until it is issued, nobody may act for the estate at all: not a spouse, not a child, not the person named in the Will.
When is a Letter of Authority required?
When the gross value of the estate is R250 000 or less. Above that line the estate is administered in full under Letters of Executorship, with the notice to creditors, a complete liquidation and distribution account, and the Master's supervision through to the end.
The line is measured on gross value, before any debts are deducted. What counts towards it is explained in the FAQ. Establishing which side of the line an estate really falls on is one of the first things to get right, because it decides how the whole estate will be run.
What the Master needs first
The estate is still reported to the Master, with a pack of documents. It is lighter than the full reporting pack, but the core of it is the same:
- The death certificate, and the deceased's identity document.
- The original Will, if there is one. A copy is not enough.
- The death notice and the inventory, recording the next of kin and everything the estate owns.
- The next-of-kin affidavit where there is no Will, with the nomination and acceptance forms.
- Supporting documents, correctly certified: identity documents, marriage details, and proof of the assets listed.
Certification is where packs die. A photocopy or a photo on a phone is not a certified copy; it needs a Commissioner of Oaths to stamp and sign it as a true copy of the original. The full reporting list is in the FAQ.
How long does a Letter of Authority take?
The same two things decide it as for any appointment: how complete the reporting pack is, and how busy that particular Master's office is. The FAQ answer sets out both.
What it costs
The Master's fee is nil on an estate under R250 000, so a small estate carries less statutory cost than a full administration. Our own fee is agreed with you up front, before you commit to anything.
How DEA applies for one
We work out which side of the R250 000 line the estate actually falls on, assemble the reporting pack, get the certification right, and lodge it with the Master's office that holds the estate. We attend that office ourselves, so you do not have to. If the estate turns out to be above the line, we say so before anything is lodged.