New online service a milestone for Justice Department

The recently launched Masters' Deceased Estate Online Registration System is a milestone for how the Masters' Office renders services to the public.

This is according to Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola, who recently addressed the launch.

“This system will be a catalyst to changing this environment… modernising it, digitising it, and making it accessible to members of the public and also all the professional bodies that operate in the space of the Master's [Office] services,” he said.

The new online system will, amongst others, allow members of the public to register deceased estates either in the comfort of their homes, offices or anywhere in the world, without having to visit a Master's Office (except with the lodgement of original wills).

Online registrations will also speed up the registration process and ensure quicker availability of the particulars of the beneficiaries and trustees.

With the electronic booking of appointments -- where a client needs to physically visit a Master's Office -- the client will be able to choose a suitable date and time slot for their appointment.

The Minister said the system will also protect clients from fraudulent activities.

“We are also aware that you have also suffered not only in terms of accessing our services but also in terms of the manipulators of the system… such as fraudulent letters of authority and so forth. Already, the risks have been mitigated and we believe that if we all follow those systems, we’ll be able to guard against further fraudulent activities by unscrupulous players out there,” said Minister Lamola.

“We hope that the Legal Practice Council will play its role against unscrupulous attorneys who also sometimes take their chances and also hopefully the accounting profession will do the same with the accountants who also sometimes take advantage of the unsuspecting members of the public,” he added.

He said the digitisation of services of the Master’s Office is the beginning of a migration of most of the department’s services.

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