Not only can you report deceased estates online these days, but also deceased estates can be tracked online; the Master’s Office has a case management system which allows public access through a portal. You can use the online system to determine which Master's Office is administering the deceased estate. The system allows a "Deceased Search" using one or more of the following details: Deceased's Surname, Deceased's First Names, ID number, date of birth, a range for Date of Death, the Master's Office and Place of Death, Estate File Number and Estate Status. The system returns same and Estate Type and a URN code (Unique Reference Number).
So, for example, if you search for "Nelson Mandela" you get the following result:
Surname: Mandela
First name: Nelson Rolihlahla
Identity passport number: 1807185276083
Date of death: 2013/12/05
Estate type: Executorship
Status: Registered
Estate file number: 002645/2014
Master's office: Johannesburg Masters Office
Master representative / Executor
Clement Temba Sangoni
George Bizos
Dikgang Ernest Moseneke
Looking for a tax number
The executor can contact SARS who should be able to provide the tax number; alternatively the executor could contact the deceased's old employer who might still have the tax number on record. Note that a deceased estate can be reported to the Master without the tax number.
Family, Estate & notarial legal services
Deceased Estate Information
If a relative has died, perhaps without a will, and you are unsure of what do:
Note that this is a public forum - exercise caution before acting on info and use at own risk. Anybody may ask and answer, and you don't know what their level of expertise is. No information on this website should be acted on without first consulting with a lawyer to test its validity. Do not share private details here.
