In October last year I posted an article entitled “Keep those certificates” on my ideas website as it was considering certificates in general. This article looks at those needed post death. In recent weeks I have discovered more and more the importance of that statement. My youngest sister died in Dec last year and my husband is her nominated Executor.
In October last year I posted an article entitled “Keep those certificates” on my ideas website as it was considering certificates in general. This article looks at those needed post death. In recent weeks I have discovered more and more the importance of that statement. My youngest sister died in Dec last year and my husband is her nominated Executor.
For him to obtain a Letter of Executorship there are a number of certificates, forms and papers which are required (see page 54 of my book). Included in these is her Divorce Decree from 1989. Unfortunately it cannot be found among her effects and her ex-husband has no idea where his copy is. I visited the Department of Home Affairs who told me that they do not keep records for divorce. All that they do is record the change in status. In fact there is no record even of the date of the divorce and anything to do with the marriage is wiped from the system. I was given a printout of their current information: just her names, ID number and the fact that she was divorced and dead.
A copy of a divorce decree can only be obtained from the High Court where the divorce was granted. Fortunately she and her husband were in Durban, where we are resident. To obtain it YOU MUST HAVE A CASE NUMBER!! Well we do not have one so one of us has to go through the Registers personally. Once the Case Number has been found, a form is completed and submitted to the General Office. The document will be withdrawn within 2 days and one has 2 days in which to collect it. I shall start the process on Tuesday when I am in town again.
A comment was posted to my previous article in October 2015, saying that a person could take photos of the certificates and papers, which is true but, the Master of the High Court wants hard copies of everything! Take the photos and save them in a secure place and make sure that your nominated Executor or a family member knows where to find them in case require.
So once again, I urge you to take a look at the last chapter of my book, if you have it and if you don’t go to my website and order either a hard copy or a digital one for just R90. It is an enormous benefit to your family and the Executor if your papers are in order.