My Ex died. I have his last will & how do I claim his assets for our 2 sons?
My ex died 28 June. The docket is still being investigated as there is suspicion of murder. He did not remarry but lived with his girlfriend for a while. He traded his 2 ton truck in for 2 cars in March. The receipts are made out in his name and his mom’s residential address was given for delivery. He never registered the vehicles in his name.
The girlfriend kept promising that she wanted to give his possessions to our sons, but did not. She also kept deceiving me about the truck, saying it was kept safe because his family did not want her to give it to us. She never let on that it was traded for 2 cars. She lied about her residence and wanted money from me for his funeral.
She told me that they were married and that the truck was registered in her name, which turned out to be a lie also.
She registered both vehicles in her name 3rd of August and then traded it in for another vehicle. I was only contacted by his mother with this information about 3 weeks ago. She sent me a copy of the death certificate and his ID for me to lay claim to his possessions for the boys. How do I go about it? Was it illegal for the girlfriend to have traded these vehicles in?
I need to know, legally what can I do. As he lived in Johannesburg at the time of his death, who do I go and see for help in the matter?
This is the second boyfriend within 2 years that she has done this with.
Category: Estates, Succession with a will
Region: South Africa, Gauteng
1 Answer
It is clear your ex died intestate (without a valud Will). He was not married at the time of his death but was survived by 2 children. The law on Intestate Succession, which is basically based on blood relationship, applies. So because there is no Will, definitely there is no appointed executor. In this instance, the Master of the High Court will appoint an executor on behalf of the deceased estate. The executor’s first duty would be to collect all his assets and administer them amongst his beneficiaries, in this case the 2 children. Your first move would be to go to the Master’s office in the area where he resided. The Master’s office can be a very busy one but I have no doubt you will be appropriately guided.