The Judicial Matters Amendment Act 15 of 2023 – which came into operation on 2 April 2024 – inter alia introduced amendments to several key statutes, including the Administration of Estates Act, 1965, the Matrimonial Property Act, 1984, the Intestate Succession Act, 1987, and the Maintenance of Surviving Spouses Act, 1990. Although these amendments took effect in 2024, it has become clear that many practitioners were not fully aware of them.
Some of the important amendments to the Administration of Estates Act, 1965, are to:
- make provision for electronic payments – see the amendment to section 28.
- provide for an affidavit by an executor – see the amendment to sections 34 and 35.
- provide for the review of the Master’s appointments and to provide for a procedure to review a decision of a Master of the High Court or designated official – see the amendment to section 95.
Members are encouraged to take special note of the recent and welcome amendment to section 95 of the Administration of Estates Act.
Review applications must go to the Chief Master first
A recent judgment has confirmed that any review of a decision by the Master must first be submitted to the Chief Master before approaching the Court. In Rahantlane v Master of the High Court and Others (2328/2025) [2025] ZAFSHC 386 (3 December 2025), the Free State High Court in Bloemfontein dismissed the application because the applicant had approached the Court directly without first bringing the review to the Chief Master. Read the judgment here.
Policy directives expected soon
The Chief Master has not yet issued the policy directives contemplated in section 95(4)(a). However, she has advised FISA that these directives will be released shortly. We will notify all members as soon as they become available.
Interim guidance for practitioners
Until the directives are published, practitioners who wish to review a decision of the Master should:
(a) Follow the procedure set out in section 95(2)(a)–(d) and (b) confirm with the Office of the Chief Master whether documentation must be submitted via e‑mail or delivered in person. The prescribed method of submission is expected to be clarified in the forthcoming directives.
- further regulate the making of regulations:
- Practitioners should be aware that section 103 empowers the Minister to make regulations on a wide range of matters. Of particular relevance to FISA members is the Minister’s authority to prescribe which persons, including juristic persons, may be prohibited from liquidating or distributing deceased estates, and to grant exemptions to such prohibitions. See section 103(eA) and (eB).
- This regulatory power is especially important in light of the current uncertainty surrounding the applicability of Regulation 910. FISA will continue to actively engage in the regulatory process to ensure that members’ views are heard when draft regulations are published.
Section 21 of the Matrimonial Property Act, 1984, was amended by the deletion of paragraph (a) of subsection (2).
Section 1 of the Intestate Succession Act, 1987, was amended to extend the meaning of “spouse” by the addition of the following subsection:
- “(1A) The word “spouse”, whether it appears in this section, includes a partner in a permanent life partnership in which the partners have undertaken reciprocal duties of support.”
Section 1 of the Maintenance of Surviving Spouses Act, 1990, was amended to insert three new definitions;
- “’marriage’ for the purposes of this Act includes a permanent life partnership in which the partners undertook reciprocal duties of support”
- “’spouse’ for the purposes of this Act, includes a person in a permanent life partnership in which the partners undertook reciprocal duties of support”
The definition of survivor was substituted with the following:
- “’survivor’ means the surviving spouse in a marriage dissolved by death, and includes:
- the surviving partner of a permanent life partnership terminated by the death of one partner in which the partners undertook reciprocal duties of support and in circumstances where the surviving partner has not received an equitable share in the deceased partner’s estate; and
- a spouse of a customary marriage which was dissolved by a civil marriage contracted by her husband in the customary marriage to another woman on or after 1 January 1929 (the date of commencement of sections 22 and 23 of the Black Administration Act 1927 (Act No. 38 of 1927)), but before 2 December 1988 (the date of commencement of the Marriage and Matrimonial Property Law Amendment Act, 1988 (Act No. 3 of 1988)).”