Parly clips the Master of High Court’s wings; proposed Bill to decentralise inheritance issues

admin June 20, 2024

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By Agencies

PARLIAMENT is rationalising the powers of the Master of High Court to ensure that the office does not willy nilly dispose or sell the property of a deceased estate without the permission of a judge of the High Court.

The Master should also not unilaterally appoint or remove an executor of an estate.
This is meant to enhance protection of widows, widowers and orphans duering disputes over deceased estate.
Once the Administration of Estates Amendment Bill has become law , the Master of High Court will have to approach the High Court and argue their case before appointing or removing any executor of a deceased estate and will have to seek the approval of the Guardian’s Fund in making investments of funds falling under the office.
The new requirements were adopted by the National Assembly on Tuesday stage of the Administration of Estates Amendment Bill, where Justice,Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi introduced additional amendments to the proposed Law.

The Bill which is still before the National Assembly seeks to provided for better and autonomous admonistration to the Office of the Master of the High Court to enable it to serve the people efficiently and in a decentralised manners , among other things removing from the the Judicial Servies Commission.

Clause 4 of the Bill provides that the appointment of an executor or executors of a deceased estate by the Master, where this is not laid down in a will , must be approved by the High Court after notifying everyone with a legitimate interest in the estate , should there be no resolution among stakeholders on who should become an executor.

This would apply where there is no will naming an executor , and in such a case , the Master just confirms who the deceased person wanted .Sometimes the family can unanimously agree , and again that can be confirmed .But problems can arise where there is no executor laid down in a will, and where there is a family disagreement.

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