Page 56 - Nexia SAB&T Trust Guide 2024

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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