Answers to your questions

Have a question you would like answered? Email us and we may answer it. The questions here are based on ones from our readers, with identifying information removed.

Please note: GroundUp is just a news agency. We are not lawyers or financial advisors, and we have nothing to do with SASSA, Home Affairs, or any other government bodies. We do our best to make the answers accurate using publicly available information, but we cannot accept any legal liability if there are errors. If you notice any discrepancies, please email [email protected].

Topic: Inheritance | Show questions and answers for all topics

My late grandmother's council house was taken over by my sister, who has evicted me twice and likely doesn't pay rent. How can I get her out?

You can go to your local housing office with your grandmother's death certificate to find out whose name the tenancy is in and request to take it over.

Housing Inheritance

Can I legally claim ownership of an RDP house sold to me by someone who isn't the deceased owner's legal heir?

If the deceased father did not leave a will, the law of Intestate Succession applies. If the son was not named on the title deed, he is not authorised to sell the house.

Housing Inheritance

My mother applied to the Tshiamo Trust after my dad died, but three years later she has just been told she can’t. Please help!

Your mother should probably lodge a request for a review of the Tshiamiso Trust decision.

Inheritance Mining

How do I access my RAF money placed in an ABSA trust account when I was a child?

Get a copy of the Trust Deed. You will then need a lawyer to make a court application to access the funds.

Inheritance

My father worked at Impala Mine and died in 2008. How do I check if he has any unclaimed money?

Search on the Financial Sector Conduct Authority database to find out whether there is unclaimed money due to your father.

Inheritance

I'm struggling to get the government pension fund to process my child’s claim without an affidavit from a relative that we don't know.

You may still claim from the GEPF by proving financial dependence and trying to involve the brother through a meeting, affidavit, or sworn statements from other relatives.

Inheritance

My mother died just as her application for an RDP house was approved. Will we, as her surviving children, be given the house?

You will have to go the municipality where your mother applied and ask them for their advice in this situation.

Housing Inheritance

Will my late father's assets go to my stepfather if my mother and stepfather separate?

If your mother and her new husband are married in community of property, they share an undivided and equal joint estate.

Inheritance

I’m the fideicommissary heir but my sister won’t give me the keys to our home after our mom, the surviving spouse, died. What can I do?

If the will names you as the fideicommissary heir, you may have a legal right to the property. Consult the Master’s Office for help.

Inheritance

My half-brother applied for an authority letter to claim our late father’s inheritance. How can we be included to get our share?

If your father died without a will, all four children are equal heirs and should have had a say in who got the letter of authority. You can write to the Master of the High Court over your concerns.

Inheritance