Quick answer
An executor needs records that prove authority, identify the people and property affected, support each value and claim, account for every estate-money movement, and show that notices, tax, the liquidation and distribution account and final transfers were handled through the correct process. The useful question is not “Which papers can I collect?” but “Which decision or account entry does this paper prove?”
How to use this guide
The file will differ by estate. A simple cash estate, an estate with immovable property, a disputed will, a business, foreign assets or possible insolvency require different modules. Keep a missing-document register instead of filling gaps with assumptions, and preserve originals where the Master or another institution may require them.
Separate the reporting pack from the administration file
The initial reporting pack opens the estate with the Master and supports appointment. Current Master guidance identifies items such as the death notice, death certificate, marriage information, original wills and codicils, next-of-kin material where relevant, the inventory, nomination and acceptance documents, identity material and security documents where required.
The administration file is broader and continues to grow after appointment. It must explain what the executor did with each asset, liability, receipt and instruction. Do not discard the reporting pack; place a controlled copy at the front of the continuing file and record when and where any original was lodged.
Use three record levels
Maintain a source copy, a working copy and a submission copy. The source copy is the record as received, with its original filename, envelope, email headers or certification. The working copy may carry internal notes, reconciliation marks or a reference number. The submission copy is exactly what went to the Master, SARS, a bank, conveyancer, court or other institution.
For each outgoing bundle, keep the covering message, attachments, date, recipient and proof of delivery. A draft saved on a computer is not proof that a document was lodged. A screenshot may help explain a message but should not replace an available original thread or statement.
Module 1: authority and succession
Keep the death certificate, estate reference, original will and codicils record, letters of executorship or letter of authority, acceptance and security documents, and every later endorsement or direction affecting authority. If a corporate executor, assumed executor, co-executor or agent is involved, keep the appointment and mandate records separately.
If no valid will governs all or part of the estate, retain the family and status evidence needed for an intestate analysis. Marriage, adoption, parentage, divorce, death and relationship records can be decisive. Do not construct an heir list from family consensus alone, and do not annotate, staple, repair or write on an original testamentary document.
Module 2: the people register
Create one controlled register for the deceased, executor, spouse or partner, heirs, legatees, minors, dependants, trustees, creditors and disputed claimants. Record names as shown on source documents, contact details, capacity, identity verification status and the record supporting the asserted relationship.
Keep disputed status visible. A person may be a claimant without yet being accepted as an heir or creditor. Store identity and banking documents with restricted access and share only what the relevant task requires.
Module 3: assets, ownership and values
For every asset, keep evidence of ownership, the date-of-death position, valuation source, current custodian, insurance and any security or co-ownership. Depending on the estate, this can include deeds information, vehicle records, bank and investment statements, policy schedules, loan accounts, share registers, business financials, intellectual-property records, digital-asset access evidence and documents for amounts owed to the deceased.
The inventory should be traceable to supporting evidence. Mark estimated values as estimates and replace them when an accepted valuation or institution statement arrives. An asset used by the deceased is not automatically owned entirely by the estate; matrimonial property, co-ownership, trusts, companies, partnerships, nominations and beneficiary designations may require separate analysis.
Module 4: liabilities and creditor claims
Keep contracts, statements, invoices, tax liabilities, mortgage and secured-debt records, maintenance information, guarantees and each claim lodged in response to the creditor notice. Record whether a claim is admitted, disputed, partly admitted or awaiting proof, and preserve the reason for the status.
Section 29 of the Administration of Estates Act requires the executor, after letters are granted, to publish a notice calling for claims within a stated period that is not less than 30 days and not more than three months. Keep the notice, publication proof, closing date, claims register and correspondence. Publication does not turn every submitted amount into a valid liability; the source and value still need to be checked.
Module 5: estate banking and transaction evidence
Section 28 provides the estate-account framework. Keep account-opening documents, full statements, deposit records, payment instructions, invoices, receipts and reconciliations. Number every transaction so that it can be traced from the bank statement to a lawful estate purpose and then to the relevant account entry.
Do not use a personal account as an informal substitute. If money was received or paid through the wrong account before the problem was identified, retain all records and obtain advice about correction and disclosure rather than trying to reconstruct the history later.
Module 6: tax records
The SARS file should contain the deceased-estate reporting case, representative-taxpayer material, tax references, returns, assessments, requests for information, payment records and correspondence. Keep pre-death tax separate from post-death estate income and from estate duty work.
Where estate duty is relevant, preserve the Rev267 work, valuation evidence, deduction support, assessments and payment records. Current SARS guidance explains that the deceased estate and the deceased person's tax obligations must be brought into compliance before the deceased-estate compliance letter can complete the tax process. Do not infer from the gross estate value alone that tax is or is not payable.
Module 7: the liquidation and distribution account
Section 35 requires the account in the prescribed form for an executor following the full process. Build an account-evidence index linking every asset, liability, administration expense, cash movement, post-death receipt and proposed distribution to its voucher.
Keep the version lodged, Master's queries, corrections, permission to advertise, Gazette and newspaper notices, inspection proof and every objection or response. Never overwrite an earlier version. A clear version history shows what changed and why.
Module 8: transfer, distribution and closing proof
Once the account is legally distributable, retain payment proofs, signed receipts or acquittances where applicable, conveyancing and registration records, delivery records for movable assets, Guardian's Fund proof for money that cannot be distributed directly, and the evidence lodged with the Master.
For each beneficiary, reconcile the final transfer to the approved account rather than to an informal family spreadsheet. Keep release and closing correspondence, but do not describe the estate as final merely because the bank balance is low.
Add conditional modules instead of forcing one checklist
Open a separate module for litigation, a business, trust property, maintenance, foreign grants or assets, digital access, insolvency, a missing original will, or disputed ownership only when the facts require it. Foreign letters do not automatically answer what authority is needed over South African assets; current Master guidance identifies a separate foreign-estate appointment and document process.
Review the index monthly. The best executor file shows provenance, versions, gaps, decisions and delivery—not merely a large number of PDFs.
Important limitation
This is a conditional filing framework, not a statement that every listed record is compulsory or sufficient for a particular estate, institution or dispute.
FAQs
Which document proves that an estate representative may act?
Use the appointment document issued or recognised by the Master and check its scope. A nomination in a will is not itself letters of executorship or a section 18(3) letter of authority.
Must every estate record be kept as an original?
No single rule applies to every record. Preserve originals where they exist, while checking whether the Master, SARS, a bank, court or other institution requires an original, certification, prescribed form or additional proof.
What should support an entry in the liquidation and distribution account?
Keep a voucher trail linking the entry to ownership or liability evidence, a valuation or calculation, the estate-bank transaction and any approval or correspondence relevant to that item.
How should an executor record documents that are still missing?
Use a gap register stating the document, why it matters, who should supply it, when it was requested, the latest follow-up and what decision cannot safely be made without it.
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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.