A deceased estate comes into existence when a person dies leaving property or a document which is a will or purports to be a will. Such estate must then be administered and distributed in terms of the deceased's will or failing a valid will, in terms of the Intestate Succession Act, 81 of 1987.
This procedure is followed when a customer has passed away and there is a balance outstanding on the FNB Home Loan account. The estate of a deceased person must be reported to the Master of the Court within 14 days from date of death. Any person having control or possession of any property or document, being the will of the deceased, reports the death.
The estate is reported by lodging a completed death notice with the Master. The death notice and other reporting documents may be obtained from any office of the Master of the High Court or Magistrate's Office.
If the person administering the estate (the executor) is not well versed in the field, significant delays in the administration process may occur, leaving the surviving spouse or family in an uncomfortable situation. Many people feel more at ease having a relative as the executor, but if First Trust is nominated as the executor, it is more likely that funds can be accessed while waiting for some of the processes to be completed by the Master of the High Court.
In the case where no will is left, a member of the deceased's family reporting the death to the Master may be instructed to approach a suitable professional. FNB Trust Services is authorised in many such cases to administer the estate, acting under a Power of Attorney granted by the relative or friend who was nominated as executor.
Where one of either or both of the bondholders should pass away; the surviving spouse / family member/s are obliged to report the death of the bondholder/s to the bank. They would need to obtain a certified copy of the death certificate and also approach the bank's estates division - FNB Trust Services, for the appointment of an executor to manage the financial affairs of the deceased persons/parties and to ensure the estate is wound up.
An executor is a person appointed by the Master of the High Court to attend to the winding up of the deceased person's estate.
A certified copy or the original death certificate must be presented to the bank for the legal reporting of the death of a party to the bond.
