Am I still entitled to my inheritance after my mother's death if my stepfather took everything and remarried?

The long answer

As your mother and stepfather were married in community of property, they shared an undivided joint estate. When she died, your stepfather would automatically inherit half the joint estate. If your mother had made a will leaving her half of the joint estate to you, you would have inherited her 50% once all the debts had been paid off. But your stepfather would still be entitled to his half of the joint estate. 

If she did not make a will, she is said to have died intestate. Under the Intestate Succession Act, the surviving spouse is first in line to inherit, followed by descendants. Of your mother’s 50%, your stepfather should have received the greater of R250,000 or a child’s share. As your mother’s child, you too should have received a child’s share of her 50%. A child’s share is the amount you get when the remaining 50% is divided by the number of surviving children and any children born of deceased children, plus the surviving spouse. As you were her only child, your mother’s 50% should have been divided between you and your stepfather, so you should each have received 25% of her 50%.

As the person with the letter of authority, he should have seen that you received your child’s share. Having the letter of authority meant that your stepfather had the right and duty to wind up the deceased estate, which meant that after paying any outstanding debts that your mother may have had, he should have seen that you received what you were owed.

If he was married in community of property to his new wife, they too would share an undivided and equal joint estate, which means everything that they owned before and during their marriage. This would include debts or assets that one of them had before their marriage, like your deceased mother’s house. In other words, your stepfather's new wife could inherit your mother's house, as it would become part of the joint estate. But as you did not inherit your lawful 25% of your deceased mother’s 50%, I think you may still have a claim to inherit that 25%. 

As far as your mother’s belongings go, again I think you could make a strong case to be given them, in terms of intestate succession, as you were her child, and the new wife had no relationship with her. 

As far as obtaining a letter of authority for the funeral cover administrator to consider your application for the funeral policy benefits goes: it is the Master of the High Court that issues letters of authority for a deceased estate to be wound up after a death has been reported. You should take all your documents like your birth certificate, ID and any other documents you have to prove your relationship to your deceased mother. You could also explain to the Master that your deceased stepfather had the letter of authority to wind up your mother’s estate, but he failed to give you the child’s share you were owed, and that you are still wanting to claim it. The representative with the letter of authority is meant to act under the instructions of the Master, but your mother’s estate was not fully distributed by your stepfather before his death.

You should also check whether your stepfather’s death has been reported by the new wife. If it has, ask if a representative with the letter of authority has already been appointed. If so, you may well have to take a letter from the funeral cover administrator about the policy to this person. Ask the Master to advise you on how this would work.

If you need to take the matter higher up, you can contact the Chief Master of the High Court at the following email address: [email protected]

I think it would also be wise to consult Legal Aid on all these issues. Legal Aid is a means-tested organisation that must assist people who cannot afford a lawyer. These are their contact details: 

Tel: 0800 110 110 (Monday to Friday 7am to 7pm) 

Please Call Me: 079 835 7179 

Email: [email protected]

Wishing you the best,
Athalie