Intestate succession calculator

Someone has died and no will can be found. You are trying to work out who inherits, and you would rather have a straight answer now than wait weeks for one. This calculator applies the order the law fixes and shows the split, in rands, for the family you describe. Take your time with it. Nothing here needs deciding today.

What this tool works out and who it is for

You enter the net value of the estate, how many spouses survive, how many children survive, how many children died before the deceased but left children of their own, whether the deceased's parents are alive, how many brothers and sisters there are, and the spouse's guaranteed minimum.

The tool then tells you who inherits, what each person receives, and why the split lands where it does. It also raises warnings where the family you describe has a feature the law treats specially.

It is for anyone dealing with a death where there is no valid will: a widow or widower, an adult child, a sibling, or someone acting as executor. It is also for anyone still alive who wants to see what would happen if they never get round to writing a will.

The tool divides the net estate, meaning the assets after debts, funeral costs, administration costs and any estate duty. Work those out first at /calculators/executor-fees-and-estate-duty.

One step comes earlier still. If the deceased was married in community of property, half the joint estate already belongs to the surviving spouse and is inherited by nobody. Only the deceased's half is distributed, and that is the figure to enter.

How the calculator decides

The Act sets an order of classes. The tool works down that order and stops at the first class where somebody survives.

A spouse and descendants together. This is the most common answer and the one people get wrong. The tool adds the spouses and the branches together and divides the estate by that number, which gives a child's share. Each spouse then receives a child's share or the guaranteed minimum, whichever is greater. The descendants share what is left, equally between the branches. So a spouse is never worse off than the minimum, and on a large estate the spouse simply takes a child's share like everyone else.

What counts as a branch. A surviving child is one branch. A child who died before the deceased but left children of their own is also one branch, shared among that child's own children. A child who died leaving no children is not a branch at all.

Small estates. Where the guaranteed minimum for the spouses would swallow the whole estate, the spouses take everything and the children inherit nothing. The tool says so and warns you. It is not an error in the arithmetic. It is the Act protecting the surviving spouse first.

A spouse alone. With no descendants, the surviving spouse takes the whole estate. Where there is more than one spouse, they share it equally.

Descendants alone. With no surviving spouse, the descendants take everything, divided equally between the branches.

Both parents. With no spouse and no descendants, the parents each take half.

One parent. The surviving parent takes half, and the other half goes to the descendants of the parent who died first, which usually means the deceased's brothers and sisters. Where that parent left no other descendants, the surviving parent takes everything.

The parents' descendants. With no spouse, no descendants and no parents, the estate passes to the deceased's brothers and sisters, divided equally.

Nobody at all. Where nothing above applies, the estate goes to the State and is held in the Guardian's Fund. A relative who comes forward in time can still claim it.

Say this part plainly: the tool stops before grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins, and the Act does reach them. If everyone closer has died but some blood relative survives, the estate does not go to the State, and the tool tells you to get advice rather than assume.

The warnings it can raise

Where there is more than one spouse, the tool explains that each is guaranteed the minimum or a child's share, whichever is greater, and that a customary marriage must be valid. Registration is the easiest way to prove one, though an unregistered customary marriage can still be valid.

Where a child died before the deceased, it reminds you that the branch is shared among that child's own children and falls away if there are none.

On every result it flags that a permanent life partner who was never married to the deceased is not automatically an intestate heir. The courts have extended protection in some situations, so a surviving partner should get advice rather than assume either way.

The law behind it

The order comes from the Intestate Succession Act 81 of 1987, which applies whenever a person dies without a valid will, and to any part of an estate a will fails to deal with. The Reform of Customary Law of Succession and Regulation of Related Matters Act 11 of 2009 brought customary marriages into the same scheme, which is why the calculator allows more than one spouse.

The spouse's guaranteed minimum is not a fixed number in the Act. The Minister fixes it by notice and it changes. The LawMatch rate table currently carries R250 000, and the calculator makes it an editable input for that reason. Confirm the current figure with the Master's office.

The estate is wound up under the Administration of Estates Act 66 of 1965. The Master of the High Court appoints the executor, who draws an account applying the intestate order to the real family tree.

A surviving spouse also has a separate claim for reasonable maintenance from the estate under the Maintenance of Surviving Spouses Act 27 of 1990, which sits alongside the inheritance and no will can take away. A dependent child may also have a maintenance claim.

Worked example

These examples are illustrative.

Sipho dies with no will and a net estate of R3 000 000, leaving a wife and two children. The tool adds one spouse and two branches, which is three, and divides R3 000 000 by three. A child's share is R1 000 000. That beats the guaranteed minimum, so the wife takes a child's share of R1 000 000. The remaining R2 000 000 divides between two branches, so each child takes R1 000 000.

Now change the numbers. Nomsa dies with no will and a net estate of R600 000, leaving a husband and three children. One spouse plus three branches is four, so a child's share is R150 000. The guaranteed minimum of R250 000 is greater, so the husband takes R250 000. That leaves R350 000, divided between three branches, which is R116 666.67 each. The minimum has quietly moved R100 000 from the children to the spouse, exactly as the Act intends.

What this tool does not decide

The tool applies the Act to the answers you type. It does not apply the Act to the real family.

It does not decide who the heirs actually are. Whether a customary marriage was valid, whether a life partner qualifies and whether a marriage was in or out of community of property are questions of fact and law. The executor investigates them and the Master of the High Court examines the account before anything is paid out. If someone objects, a court decides.

It does not value the estate, work out the debts or calculate estate duty. It takes the net figure you give it.

It does not deal with a minor's inheritance. Money due to a child under 18 is usually paid into the Guardian's Fund and held until they turn 18, unless a will sets up a trust. That is one of the strongest reasons to write a will if you have young children.

When to get advice, and the free route

The free route is the Master of the High Court. Report the estate at the Master's office or the magistrate's court for the area where the deceased lived. There is no charge, staff will tell you which forms you need, and for smaller estates the Master can appoint a representative rather than a full executor. Take the death certificate, the deceased's identity document, a list of the assets and debts, and your own identity document.

Get advice from an attorney where the family tree is disputed, where a customary or religious marriage has to be proved, where a life partner is claiming, or where a business or a farm is in the estate. If you cannot afford one, our legal aid page explains who Legal Aid South Africa helps and how to reach them on 0800 110 110.

LawMatch is not a law firm and this page is general information, not legal advice. Confirm the current guaranteed minimum and the real family position before anyone relies on a figure here.

Read what happens if you die without a will in South Africa for the full picture, how to write a valid will in South Africa if you would rather this never applied to you, and how to claim maintenance from a deceased estate if you depended on the person who died.

Frequently asked questions

Does my husband or wife automatically inherit everything?

Only where there are no descendants. Where there are children, the spouse takes a child's share or the guaranteed minimum, whichever is greater, and the children share the rest. Many people assume the surviving spouse takes the lot, and with children that is not the case.

What about my partner? We lived together for years but never married.

A permanent life partner is not automatically an intestate heir. The courts have extended protection in some situations, so a surviving partner should get advice rather than assume. A will removes the question entirely.

My brother died before our mother. Do his children inherit his share?

Yes. Your brother counts as one branch and his children share it between them. Had he died leaving no children, his share would fall away and the estate would divide among the rest.

Can a will change any of this?

Yes, almost all of it. A valid will overrides the intestate order and you can leave your estate to whoever you choose. The main things a will cannot remove are a surviving spouse's claim for reasonable maintenance from the estate and a dependent child's maintenance claim.

Does the State really take the estate if there is no family?

Only after the Act has run out of relatives, and it reaches further than this calculator does. The money is held in the Guardian's Fund rather than spent, and a relative who comes forward in time can still claim it.