For families in South Africa · Fill-in PDF
A guided file that shows your family where every paper is, who to call first and what to do in the first 72 hours, the first 14 days and the first year — with the papers the Master’s Office asks for. No apps, no passwords written down and no changes to your will.
One payment · R299 · 60-day guarantee · Start Guide by email straight away
Yes, I want The Family File →Does this sound familiar?
The title deed is “somewhere in a file”, the funeral policy is with a different insurer from the life cover, and nobody else knows the PIN of your cellphone. If something happens tomorrow, your family starts from zero.
Months of queues at the Master’s Office, a bank account frozen in the same week, “come back with this document” — and the question everyone asks: “Where are the papers?” You’d like your family to be spared all that.
One of you pays the rates, the bond and the debit orders; the other knows the doctor, the medical aid and where the policies are. Forty years together — and the full picture isn’t written down anywhere.
You tried with a notebook, a file on the computer or a checklist from the internet… and stopped halfway. Because nobody told you what goes where, and in which order.
What changes once it’s all on paper
It’s all in one file, ready when it’s needed.
One sheet, three deadlines, the offices by name — and The After Guide, with tick-box checklists. Nobody has to guess.
On the back of the sheet are the papers the Master’s Office and the bank may ask for. Your family arrives with the file complete — no second trip for a missing document.
Three one-hour sessions, with questions that guide you: just answer what you already know.
Banks, retirement fund, policies, the house, the debit orders: what only one of you knows today, you’ll both know.
You’ve done for your family what almost nobody does. And in a year, 15 minutes is enough for the yearly check.
The idea behind the file
When the time comes, nobody looks for the will first. The family looks for the title deed, the bank statements, the funeral policy and the PIN of the cellphone. In almost every family there’s one person who knows where everything is. When that person is gone, the others are left with half a plan.
In South Africa, the deadlines start straight away. Home Affairs must be notified of the death within 72 hours. The estate is reported to the Master of the High Court within 14 days, with the original will. Banks usually freeze the accounts until there’s an executor. And in the first year, the retirement fund decides who gets paid and SARS collects estate duty if any is due. Most families only find out about these deadlines once the clock is already running.
It’s not your fault you haven’t got round to it. Anyone who tries to write it all in a notebook usually stops halfway, because nobody gave them the questions in the right order, the deadlines and the letters. What’s missing is a plan. With a plan, it takes a weekend.
The plan for afterwards — included in the price
This isn’t legal advice. It’s the list in the right order, with the offices and deadlines that matter in South Africa. Plus The After Guide, 12 pages of tick-box checklists — not an extra, already included.
You give the sheet to the person who will take care of everything. On the back: 24 papers the Master’s Office and the bank may ask for. In The After Guide: each deadline, with its own checklist.
Myths and what the law says
In short, with the section of the law. This isn’t legal advice: for your situation, ask an attorney or the Master’s Office.
“My partner inherits anyway — we’ve been together 20 years.”
Not automatically. Without a will, spouses inherit — civil, customary and religious marriages included. Since a 2021 Constitutional Court ruling, a permanent life partner can inherit too, but has to prove the partnership and the mutual support. A will removes the doubt.
Intestate Succession Act 81 of 1987 · Bwanya v Master [2021] ZACC 51
“If I inherit, I’ll have to pay my parents’ debts out of my own pocket.”
Debts are paid from the estate, before anything is shared out. The executor calls creditors in the Government Gazette and a local newspaper, and they get at least 30 days to claim.
s29 Administration of Estates Act 66 of 1965
“A will I typed and signed myself is valid.”
Only if it’s signed at the end by you, in front of two or more witnesses present at the same time, who sign too — and every other page is signed as well. Witnesses must be 14 or older.
s1 and s2(1)(a) Wills Act 7 of 1953
“The will we find at home, we just read as a family.”
Whoever has the original will must hand it to the Master as soon as they learn of the death. The Master checks it before the estate goes ahead.
s8(1) Administration of Estates Act 66 of 1965
“There’s no rush with the estate — we’ll do it when we’re ready.”
The estate must be reported to the Master of the High Court within 14 days of the death, by the spouse or the nearest relative.
s7(1) Administration of Estates Act 66 of 1965
“The pension fund pays whoever I wrote on the form.”
Not necessarily. Retirement fund trustees first look for everyone who depended on you, for up to 12 months, and share the benefit fairly. Your nomination form counts — but it isn’t the final word.
s37C Pension Funds Act 24 of 1956
In The Family File, each of these questions has its own line — so you answer them today, not your family later.
How it works
The Start Guide comes straight away. The complete file, adapted for South Africa, arrives as a PDF within 48 hours. Fill it in on your computer, or print it and write by hand.
Chapter 02, “Who to call first”, takes ten minutes — and your family already has the most important part. The rest you do in three one-hour sessions: Friday evening, Saturday morning, Sunday afternoon.
Tell your family where the file is and give them the “First steps” sheet. Done.
What you get
Ten chapters of questions: papers and documents, who to call first, accounts and banks, retirement, insurance and savings (with the funeral policy), the house (and whose name it’s in), accounts and debit orders, digital life (where the passwords are, never what they are), health, the funeral and final wishes, and the “Done” list. Every page tells you what to write. No blank pages.
The sheet “First steps for my family”: what to do in the first 72 hours, the first 14 days and the first year, at which office and with which papers — and on the back, 24 papers the Master’s Office and the bank may ask for. Plus The After Guide: a checklist for each deadline, and what comes after. Included in the price.
The guide “Before you start”: the five most common mistakes when people try alone, the page to start with, and three one-hour sessions, with what to fill in during each one.
A look inside
Pages from the PDF — fill them in on screen or by hand. These aren’t marketing images: this is exactly what you get.
Today, 4 gifts are included in the price
For the bank, the life and funeral insurers, the retirement fund, the municipality (rates, water and electricity), cellphone, internet and DStv, and the body corporate or landlord. Just fill in the details.
Value R99 included in today’s price
A sheet for the fridge door and two cards for your wallet, with what matters most: who to call, where the file is, medication, your doctor and your medical aid. Useful from day one.
Value R59 included in today’s price
A 10-minute guide, word for word, to tell your family that the file exists and where it is. With a page for children who want to give it to their parents — on the phone or a video call too, if they live overseas.
Value R69 included in today’s price
Eleven points to run through once a year (new bank, new policy, new cellphone, nominations) without rewriting anything. Best done at tax time.
Value R45 included in today’s price
Value of the gifts: R272. Included today in the price of the file, at no extra cost.
★★★★★ 4,9 out of 5 · From people who have already filled in their file
★★★★★
“When my father died, it took us four months to find all his policies — including a funeral policy he’d paid for twenty years that nobody knew about. I bought the file so my children never go through that. I filled it in over one weekend, exactly as it says.”
★★★★★
“I always paid the accounts at home; my wife only knew half. We sat down on Friday evening, and by Sunday everything was in one file. The best conversation we’ve had in years.”
★★★★★
“My partner and I have been together for 18 years, but we never married. Chapter 01 made us realise that without a will, I’d have to prove our relationship to inherit anything — and he has children from his first marriage. We’ve both made wills now. The ‘First steps’ sheet is on the fridge.”
★★★★★
“I bought it for my parents. I work in Dubai, so I filled it in with my mum on video call, chapter by chapter. The page for children helped me raise the subject without it sounding like an order. Now I know who to call first.”
★★★★★
“My husband had a will, and still it took us eleven months. The bank froze his account in the first week, and the house turned out to be still in his late mother’s name. Now my file tells the children what to take to the Master’s Office, and by when.”
★★★★★
“My daughter lives in Perth. I printed the PDF, put it in a proper lever-arch file with dividers, and sent her a photo of the ‘First steps’ sheet. The 15-minute yearly check was exactly what I was missing.”
Other routes, compared fairly
knowing what the Master’s Office asks for, in general.
where your papers are — accounts, policies, the house, the cellphone — and the plan for afterwards, with the deadlines.
drawing up a will, administering the estate and transferring the house. For those, you need a professional.
They don’t know which cupboard the title deed is in. The file gets the papers ready for them.
getting started. It costs nothing.
the questions in the right order. Most people stop halfway.
everything in one place, with questions that guide you — plus the 72 · 14 · 12 Plan for afterwards, 6 ready-made letters and a sheet to hand over. Made for South Africa, in rand.
it isn’t a will and it isn’t legal advice. Many people use it alongside their attorney or their bank.
Everything in one package
Value of everything inside: R899
You pay today
All 7 pieces for R299 — the plan for afterwards is already included
★★★★★ 4,9 out of 5
Yes, I want The Family File →One payment · Start Guide straight away · the complete file within 48 hours · 60-day guarantee
The 4 gifts are included in the price for the next 15:00 minutes only. After that the price stays the same — the gifts just aren’t included any more.
Secure card payment · Confirmation by email
A few words from the woman who made the file
“I made this file after fourteen months with my father’s papers. He had a will. But nowhere did it say which bank had his savings, that the house in Edendale was still in my grandmother’s name, that my mother had to claim his funeral policy herself — or what the PIN was on the cellphone with all our photos. I went to the Master’s Office three times for one missing document after another, and the bank froze his account in the first week. I didn’t want my own children to go through that. And I realised: it isn’t goodwill that’s missing. It’s the questions in the right order, and the deadlines that matter in South Africa, on a single sheet. That’s exactly what you get here.”
Helen M. · Pietermaritzburg
The One Weekend Guarantee
Fill in the file over one weekend and show the “First steps” sheet to someone in your family. If that person doesn’t know where to start, email us within 60 days of purchase and we’ll refund every cent. You keep the file.
No. A will says who inherits; the file shows your family where everything is and what to do. In chapter 01 you write down where the original is — because whoever has the original will must hand it to the Master as soon as they learn of the death.
No. In chapter 07 you note where they’re kept and who knows how to get to them — never what they are. Nothing leaves your home: it’s a PDF that stays on your computer or in your printed file.
Yes. A house, one bank account and a funeral policy are already three places where someone has to turn up with the right papers. And every estate is reported to the Master, big or small — estates of R250 000 or less just follow a simpler route. Fill in only what applies to you; leave the rest blank.
Yes: Home Affairs, the Master’s Office, letters of executorship and letters of authority, SARS, the retirement fund, the title deed — with the Administration of Estates Act, the Wills Act and the Intestate Succession Act, in rand. It isn’t legal advice, it’s the list in the right order.
Even more. A life partner isn’t an heir automatically. Since a 2021 Constitutional Court ruling a permanent life partner can inherit without a will, but has to prove the partnership and the mutual support. The file doesn’t write your will, but it asks the question in time.
The estate must be reported to the Master of the High Court within 14 days of the death, with the death notice and the original will. If the estate is worth R250 000 or less, the Master can issue a letter of authority instead of letters of executorship — a simpler route. The back of the sheet lists the papers, so your family doesn’t lose time looking for them.
The checklists tell you what the Master’s Office asks for, in general. The file tells you where your papers are, what comes in the first 72 hours, the first 14 days and the first year, and gives you the letters ready-made. Many people use both.
The Start Guide arrives by email straight after payment. The complete file, adapted for South Africa, arrives as a PDF within 48 hours. Fill it in on your computer, tablet or phone — or print it and write by hand. Many people put it in a real lever-arch file, so it’s ready for the family.
Yes. Gift 3 has a page for children: how to suggest the file without it sounding like an order, and how to fill it in together — on a video call too. If the children are far away, the file stays at home and you send them the “First steps” sheet as a photo or a PDF.
You have 60 days with The One Weekend Guarantee. Email us and we’ll refund you, no fuss. You keep the file.
You already know everything that matters. All that’s left is to write it down — and here you get the guide, page by page.
The Family File · file + plan for afterwards + 4 gifts — Value of everything inside R899 · today R299
★★★★★ 4,9 out of 5
Yes, I want The Family File →One payment · Start Guide straight away · 60-day guarantee
Today you write it down. Tomorrow your family knows where to start.