The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development officially launched the new online deceased estate reporting system on 10 October 2023 at an event held in Midrand. The minister, Mr Ronald Lamola, and the deputy-minister, Mr John Jeffery, both attended and addressed the attendees. Minister Lamola promised further systems development to facilitate a smooth process of deceased estate administration, and called for transformation of the industry to reflect the demographics of South Africa.
FISA Chairperson, Dr Eben Nel, councillor Angélique Krugel, and CEO Louis van Vuren attended the event, and the latter also delivered a short address as part of the programme which also included short messages from other industry bodies like SAICA, the Legal Practice Council (LPC), the Banking Association (BASA) and others. In his address Louis welcomed the development as a good start to smooth the process of bringing financial order back to the family of a deceased person and releasing assets back into the active economy. The real test will be how the rest of the process is smoothed.
The acting Chief Master is committed to the roll-out of the system, which has been piloted in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town, to all Master’s Offices by the end of January 2024.