Quick answer
Before signing a mandate, require the proposal to identify the proposed appointee, the adviser or agent, the work included before appointment, the later administration work, each fee basis, expected disbursements, security, VAT, payment source and the milestones used for progress reports. Ask who owns every next action and how a scope or provider change would be handled.
How to use this guide
One percentage and one completion estimate are not a usable cost-and-time explanation. Executor remuneration, professional service fees, security premiums, Master's charges, valuations, advertisements, tax work and conveyancing can arise from different roles or events. The appointment timeline also depends on evidence, route, security and Master queries; no reliable universal date for issuing J238 Letters can be promised from the initial facts alone.
Question 1: who is being appointed, and who is only providing a service?
The proposal should name the person or entity expected to hold the appointment and the role of everyone else. A nominated executor, a professional executor, an attorney acting as agent, a tax practitioner, accountant, valuer and conveyancer do different work.
Ask for a responsibility table showing who will:
- prepare and lodge the reporting pack;
- retain original wills and other originals;
- arrange security if required;
- respond to Master's queries;
- receive the J170 or J238 and verify it;
- control estate money after appointment;
- prepare tax work and the liquidation and distribution account;
- obtain valuations or transfers; and
- approve decisions that remain the executor's responsibility.
If you are nominated in the will but the firm will do the administration, confirm whether you remain the proposed executor and the firm acts as agent. Do not let “we handle everything” replace a named authority and accountability map.
Question 2: is the quote for appointment only or full administration?
An appointment-stage mandate may stop after reporting the death, opening the estate file, answering initial queries and obtaining J170 or J238. A full-administration mandate may continue through asset collection, notices, claims, tax, accounts, inspection, distribution and closure.
Ask for the start and end milestone of each quoted phase. A useful scope says what deliverable proves completion, such as:
- indexed reporting pack lodged;
- Master's requisition answered;
- signed appointment received;
- first post-appointment control file handed over; or
- later administration milestone completed.
The appointment-document workflow helps you identify what an appointment-only proposal should actually produce.
Question 3: how is executor remuneration determined?
Section 51 of the Administration of Estates Act gives the starting order. Remuneration is first determined by the will if the will fixes it. If it does not, the prescribed tariff applies, subject to taxation and the Master's adjustment powers.
The current regulation 8 tariff is 3.5% of the gross value of estate assets and 6% of post-death income accrued and collected, with the prescribed minimum. That is not automatically “the lawyer's fee”, and it is not necessarily the final amount in every estate.
Ask:
- Does the will contain a remuneration clause?
- Who is expected to earn executor remuneration?
- Which value base and income items are assumed?
- Is the quoted figure an estimate before the inventory is complete?
- How will the amount be presented for the Master's taxation?
- What could justify an increase, reduction or disallowance?
The executor fees and duties guide owns the fuller calculation and accountability questions.
Question 4: are attorney or agent fees additional?
A professional may charge for work as an executor, as an attorney or agent, or in more than one clearly defined capacity. The mandate should prevent double counting by linking each fee to a role and deliverable.
Ask whether the professional-service fee is fixed, hourly, staged or calculated another way; whether executor remuneration is included, credited or separate; who approves additional work; and what records support time or stage charges.
Request a written quote and scope as prudent practice. Do not rely on a claim that Legal Practice Act section 35(7) currently creates an operative statutory estimate duty: the current consolidated Act still marks those subsections as awaiting commencement.
Question 5: what appointment and security costs are outside the quote?
Security can be required before letters are issued. Section 23 provides exemptions in defined cases and permits the Master to require security despite an apparent exemption in specified circumstances. The Master determines the amount; it is not safe to assume either that security is waived or that the premium equals a fixed percentage of the estate.
Ask who will obtain the bond, what value and risk information the provider needs, whether there is an upfront premium, how renewals or changes are handled and whether a reasonable security cost can be recovered from the estate under section 23(4).
Also identify possible disbursements:
- Master's fees and certified copies;
- courier or original-document delivery;
- advertisements;
- valuations and appraisals;
- tracing or record retrieval;
- tax and accounting work;
- conveyancing and deeds costs;
- business, trust or foreign-asset advice; and
- banking or transfer charges.
For each item, ask whether it is included, estimated, capped, paid directly or advanced by someone.
Question 6: is VAT included, and who pays before the estate has liquidity?
A price can look lower because VAT or disbursements are excluded. The proposal should show the VAT treatment for professional charges and identify which third-party amounts are estimates.
Before appointment, estate funds may be inaccessible or no authorised estate account may exist. Ask whether a family member must fund a deposit, whether the firm carries specified disbursements, how an advance is recorded and under what authority it may later be reimbursed. Do not treat a family payment as an informal loan without a receipt and agreed basis.
Question 7: what facts make the estimate provisional?
An honest appointment estimate depends on facts that may still be unknown. Ask the lawyer to list the assumptions used, including:
- gross estate value and asset count;
- existence and condition of the original will;
- nomination or heir support;
- marriage, relationship and heir evidence;
- correct Master's office and any prior estate file;
- whether security is required;
- whether the estate may be insolvent;
- whether assets, relationships or appointments are disputed; and
- whether originals or value records are missing.
The quote should say what happens when an assumption changes. A new asset can alter the route, security, workload and remuneration estimate. A competing will or nomination can turn a routine application into legal work.
Question 8: what is the next official milestone—not just the final date?
Separate controlled work from external waiting. A useful appointment plan might identify:
- facts and originals verified;
- provisional route selected from the gross inventory;
- reporting pack signed and commissioned;
- application lodged through an available channel;
- estate number or workflow acknowledgement received;
- examiner query answered;
- security satisfied if required; and
- J170 or J238 issued and checked.
Ask for the current milestone, the evidence proving it, the next dependency and the person responsible. “The matter is with the Master” is not enough if no one can identify the last submission, open query or next follow-up.
Question 9: what can the provider control, and what cannot be promised?
The provider can usually control document review, submission quality, response organisation, follow-up records and communication. The provider cannot guarantee the Master's examination time, a third party's response, security approval, discovery of unknown assets or the absence of disputes.
No reviewed official source gives every J238 application a 21-, 30-, 60- or 90-day issuance deadline. Ask for a reasoned estimate with assumptions, not a guarantee. If the proposal states a date, require the dependency behind it and the action that will follow if that dependency is missed.
Question 10: how are queries, updates and scope changes controlled?
Agree on a reporting rhythm before signing. Each update should identify the stage, action completed, evidence received, blocker, cost-to-date, forecast change and next action. Urgent Master's or security requests need a named response owner.
The mandate should also explain:
- who may authorise work outside scope;
- whether approval must be written;
- how revised estimates are recorded;
- how complaints or service concerns are escalated;
- what happens if the proposed executor changes;
- how the mandate can be terminated; and
- when the complete file and originals will be handed over.
The post-appointment cost-control guide owns ongoing budgets, cash-flow reporting and later administration changes after authority has been issued.
A proposal-comparison grid
Compare proposals on the same headings, not only the headline price:
| Heading | What a usable answer should show |
|---|---|
| Appointment | Proposed J170 or J238 route and who will hold authority |
| Scope | Exact start, end and deliverables for each phase |
| Remuneration | Will clause or tariff basis, assumptions and Master taxation |
| Service fees | Role, rate or stage, inclusions and double-counting control |
| Expenses | Security, Master, courier, valuation, adverts, tax and transfer items |
| VAT and funding | Tax treatment, deposits, advances and reimbursement basis |
| Timing | Milestones, dependencies, external waits and no unsupported guarantee |
| Reporting | Update cadence, evidence, blocker and cost-to-date |
| Change control | Written approval, revised estimate, termination and handover |
Red flags before signing
Pause if a proposal calls 3.5% “the lawyer's fee” without checking the will and role; promises letters by a fixed date without dependencies; says every family member is exempt from security; treats the estate number as appointment; hides disbursements or VAT; gives no handover right; or refuses to identify who remains responsible for Master's queries.
Bring the proposal, will, provisional gross inventory and any Master's correspondence to the first meeting. The consultation-preparation guide provides a compact intake file.
FAQs
Is 3.5% automatically the lawyer's fee for a deceased estate?
No. The will may fix executor remuneration; otherwise the prescribed tariff is a starting point subject to the Master's taxation and adjustment powers. Attorney or agent fees must be tied separately to a role, scope and deliverable.
Can an estate lawyer guarantee when letters of executorship will be issued?
No reviewed official source creates a universal issuance deadline. A provider can estimate controlled work and identify dependencies, but Master examination, security, missing originals, disputes and third-party responses can affect timing.
What expenses may fall outside an appointment quote?
Possible items include security, Master's fees, certified copies, courier delivery, valuations, advertisements, tax and accounting work, conveyancing and specialist advice. The proposal should mark each item included, estimated, capped or separately payable.
Should the mandate explain what happens if the scope changes?
Yes. It should state who can authorise additional work, how the revised cost and timing are recorded, how the instruction can end and when originals and the complete estate file will be handed over.
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Legal note
This article is general legal information for South African readers. It is not legal advice. Speak to a qualified legal professional about your specific facts before taking action.