Outcry over deceased estate fees

RYAN CHIGOCHE

Residents of Harare have raised concern over the high fees and duty required by the High Court to register  and wind up a deceased estates.

They said the fees were beyond the reach of many upon the death of loved ones.

Under the Administration of Estates Act in the event of  a death of a person, close relatives are required to register the deceased estate at a fee of  4% of the estates total value within a period  of 14 days.

The director of the Harare Residents Trust, Precious Shumba told Business Times the fees were heavily weighing on widows.

“Widows are very concerned about the 4% deceased estate fee charged by the Master of the High Court upon registration of the estate of a deceased.

“A lot of widows face numerous challenges in registering the estates,” Shumba said.

In terms of Section 5(3a) of the Administration of Estates Act, failure to register an estate within the stipulated 14-day period is a criminal offence attracting a jail term of up to one year or a fine.

In some cases, the convicted relatives may be slapped with both a prison term or a fine depending on the circumstances.

Upon registration of the estate the high court fee is 4% of the gross value of the estate, and estate duty is 5% of the dutiable value of the estate.

While the estate duty can be reduced or waived in some cases, the 4%  Master’s fees are never waived.

If the estate is not registered and the assets are simply shared, the state will lose the taxes.

However, there are some assets that families cannot simply share. They must eventually register the estate in order to share it.

Estates that will be required to be registered  include houses and other immovable property that require conveyancing to change ownership.

Previously, people would go for years without registering as they would only consider registration if they intended to use the properties as collateral or sell them.