Every deceased estate administered under the Administration of Estates Act 66 of 1965 passes through two public moments. The first is the notice calling on creditors to lodge claims. The second is the notice that the liquidation and distribution account is open for inspection. Both are published in the Government Gazette, both start a fixed countdown, and both are easy to miss if you track estates from memory, from emails sent by the executor, or by paging through the weekly Friday gazette.
This guide is for estate practitioners: attorneys, conveyancers, tracing agents and estate administrators who act for heirs, creditors or buyers in estates they do not administer themselves.
The Two Notices and the Clocks They Start
Section 29: the creditor claim window
Section 29 requires the executor to publish a notice in the Government Gazette and in a newspaper circulating in the district, calling on anyone with a claim against the estate to lodge it with the executor within 30 days of publication. The notice names the deceased, gives the estate number and identifies the executor or the firm handling the estate.
For a creditor, this is the cheapest moment to act. A claim lodged inside the window is considered in the ordinary course of administration. A claim that surfaces after the account has been framed may have to compete with a distribution already planned.
Section 35: the inspection window on the account
Once the executor has framed the liquidation and distribution account, section 35 requires it to lie open for inspection at the Master's office and the relevant magistrate's office for 21 days, with a notice published in the Gazette and a newspaper. Anyone with an interest may inspect the account and lodge an objection with the Master during that period. The Master may call for the account to be amended, and a person who remains aggrieved can apply to court within the time the Act allows.
For heirs, creditors and buyers of estate property, this is the last structured chance to check that the account reflects what they are owed or entitled to.
Why These Windows Are Easy to Miss
- Manual review. Reading the weekly gazette works for a handful of estates. It stops working at dozens, because every Friday adds a new set of notices and nothing tells you which ones concern your matters.
- Reliance on the executor. Executors are obliged to publish. They are not obliged to remind you that the window is open or about to close.
- Name-only searching. Common surnames, initials and spelling variants produce false matches and misses. The ID number or estate number is the reliable key.
- Two notices, one file. The section 29 notice and the section 35 notice for the same estate can be months apart. Unless both are linked to the same matter, the second one is often found late or not at all.
Building a Two-Clock Tracker
A tracker does not need to be complicated. It needs one row per estate and two separate deadlines.
- Log the section 29 publication date and calculate the end of the 30-day window.
- Record the executor, the firm, the estate number and the deceased's ID number.
- Diarise a recurring check for the section 35 notice, because its date is not known in advance.
- When it appears, log the publication date, the 21-day end date and the Master's office where the account lies open.
- Decide inside each window whether to lodge a claim, inspect, object or confirm that no action is needed.
Count days from the publication date in the notice itself, and confirm the calculation against the Act and the notice as published. Do not rely on the date an executor's email arrived.
Searching the Gazette Properly
The quality of the result depends on the key you search with.
- ID number: the strongest key. It separates people with the same name.
- Estate number: finds every notice tied to one estate, including the section 29 and section 35 notices.
- Name: a fallback. Use initials and variants, and confirm against the date of death or ID.
- Company or CK registration number: useful where the deceased held an interest in an entity that may appear in related notices.
Gazette Search indexes more than 900,000 notices back to 2004. The Gazette is published weekly on Fridays. You can search by ID, name, estate number, company number or deep search, and use the Find-a-professional directory to locate executors, trustees, liquidators and sheriffs.
Watchlists: Let the Next Notice Find You
When you log the section 29 notice, add the estate to a watchlist by ID or estate number. Email alerts then follow the weekly cycle, so the section 35 notice reaches you when it is published rather than when you remember to look. The cases feature keeps the notices, executor contacts and dates for each matter together, and results export to CSV for your own records or practice-management system.
Bulk Checks for Larger Caseloads
Tracing agents and firms with large caseloads can upload up to 100,000 IDs in one run. Each search costs one credit, however many results it returns. On the free tier and the Single, Starter and Pro packs, a search that finds nothing is not charged. The free tier gives 5 searches, and a miss does not use one up. Bulk tiers (Business, Bulk and Volume) are billed per record, hit or miss.
Pricing starts at R35 for a single search. Starter is 100 credits for R1,000 (R10 per search), Pro is 2,500 credits for R15,000 (R6 per search), and the Volume tier goes down to R0.55 per search. Credits are valid for 12 months, and auto-refill earns 10% off. Manual per-search lookups through other channels commonly run to R500 or more.
Start from the Gazette Search homepage or see the pricing page.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a section 29 and a section 35 notice?
A section 29 notice calls on creditors to lodge claims against the estate, generally within 30 days of publication. A section 35 notice announces that the liquidation and distribution account is open for inspection for 21 days. They are published at different stages of the same estate.
How long do I have to object to a liquidation and distribution account?
The account lies open for 21 days, and objections go to the Master in that period. The clock runs from publication, so diarise the Gazette date immediately and confirm the dates against the notice itself.
Can I find an estate if I only have the deceased's name?
Yes, but name is the least reliable key. Use initials and spelling variants, and confirm any match against the date of death or the ID number. An estate number or ID number gives a far cleaner result.
Does Gazette Search alert me when a new notice is published in a watched estate?
Yes. A watchlist sends an email alert when a new notice naming the watched ID or estate is published. Alerts follow the weekly Friday publication cycle.
Do I pay for a search that finds no estate?
Not on the free tier or the Single, Starter and Pro packs. Business, Bulk and Volume tiers are billed per record, hit or miss.