CLAIMING MAINTENANCE FROM THE NET ESTATE OF A DECEASED PERSON.
In the event that a person who was maintaining you or entitled to maintain you dies, you can get maintenance from their net estate.
Who can apply for maintenance from the net estate of the deceased?
The law, in particular the Deceased Persons Family Maintenance Act, (Chapter 6:03), provides that the following dependents of the deceased may apply for maintenance in terms of the Act;
- A surviving spouse.
- A divorced spouse who at the time of the deceased’s death was entitled to the payment of maintenance by the deceased in terms of an order of court.
- A minor child.
- A major child who is, by reason of some mental or physical disability, incapable of maintaining himself and who was being maintained by the deceased at the time of his death.
- Parent who was being maintained by the deceased at the time of his death.
- Any other person who-
- was being maintained by the deceased at the time of his death.
- was entitled to the payment of maintenance by the deceased at the time of his death.
Procedure for claiming the maintenance.
An application for maintenance is made to the Master of High Court or where there is no office of the Master in the province where the applicant ordinarily resides, the application may be made to the provincial magistrate.
The application must be made within 3 months from the date of grant of letters of administration to the executor or where the Master has dispensed with an appointment of executor dative, within 3 months of the date of death of the deceased. However, the Master may on good cause shown grant an extension of this period.
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