Page 48 - Nexia SAB&T Trust Guide 2022

MASTER OF THE HIGH COURT OFFICES IN SOUTH AFRICA

Section 3 of the Trust Property Control Act deals with the jurisdiction of the
Master’s office in South Africa, in regard to a testamentary trust, and provides that
jurisdiction shall lie with the Master in whose office the testamentary writing or a
copy thereof is registered and accepted, and in any other case, with the Master in
whose area of appointment in terms of the Administration of Estates Act (no. 66
of 1965), the greater or greatest portion of the trust property is situated – provided
that a Master who has exercised jurisdiction shall continue to have jurisdiction
notwithstanding any change in the situation of the greater or greatest portion of
the trust property.
An inter-vivos trust must be registered with the Master in whose area of jurisdiction
the greatest portion of the trust assets are situated. If more than one Master has
jurisdiction over the trust assets, the Master in whose office the trust was first
registered will continue to have jurisdiction.
A Master of the High Court is appointed for every provincial division of the High
Court of South Africa. Masters’ Offices are situated in Bloemfontein, Cape Town,
Grahamstown, Kimberley, Mmabatho/Mafikeng, Nelspruit, Pietermaritzburg, Pretoria
(Tshwane), Umtata, Bisho, Thohoyandou, Johannesburg, Polokwane, Durban, and
Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth).

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