SCORPIONADVISES THEMBI ON HER DAD'S LOOT

THE FACTS 

Thembi Khumalo from Diepkloof, Soweto said her father passed away in 2011. It appears that her father’s wife, who is not her mother, and the wife’s attorney seemed to be the executor of her father’s estate.

Her father passed on without a will and the stepmother and her attorney seem to be slowing down the process of having the proceeds from the estate paid over to Thembi and her sibling.

Thembi said her father has three children, two with her mother and one with the wife and they should all be sharing in the estate. She wants to know what she can do to have this problem resolved. 

WHAT I DID 

I spoke to a senior legal advisor at SCORPION LEGAL PROTECTION to find out what Thembi’s rights are.

SOLUTION 

The advisor indicated that as Thembi’s father died without a will, his estate should, in terms of the Law of Succession, his estate should devolve intestate, meaning that all of his children, whether from marriage or not should share equally from the estate of their father.

The wife will also have her share of the estate which will either be equal to the child’s share or half of the estate whichever is more. To have the matter finalised, Thembi should approach the Office of the Master of the Court where the estate was reported and ask the estate controller handling her father’s estate if her name and her sibling have been included in the list of intestate heirs.

She should raise all concerns regarding the attorneys handling the estate. The controller should summon the attorney and the wife to account for the complaints raised. Usually the attorney is given 12 months to finalise the estate but he can apply for extensions stating reasons why he could not finalise the process in time.

The deceased passed away in 2011 and if the estate was not finalised, it has been an unreasonably long time. Thembi must mention that she and none of her siblings are employed and that they need their share of the inheritance to finish their education.