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Research in Other Countries => South Africa => Topic started by: ROBINHULL on Thursday 01 March 18 15:45 GMT (UK)
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Hi.
Can anyone tell me if it is possible to obtain estate files etc. at the Durban masters Office from as recent as 2013.??.
Also what newspapers would be available from 1988 and 2013 covering the same area and would they contain obituaries ??
Many Thanks
Robin.
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May be worth trying The Natal Witness or the Mercury? The E-GGSA will take photos of records in local repositories if you can provide the NAAIRS reference, for a very nominal fee, otherwise its a case of visiting (or getting someone to do so) the local Home Affairs office in Durban or Pietermaritzburg which I understand is somewhat difficult these days as it all seems to be very chaotic.
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Thanks...I will persevere.
If I could find a researcher in the Durban area to check a couple of things?
Any idea if there are any family history societies in the area ?
Thanks.
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I am not sure how long before records are transferred from the Masters office to the Archives. Most deceased estates go to the Pietermaritzburg archives. If you have the person's identity number or the estate number they may be able to trace it from there. I would think from 2013 they would already be there.
Most newspapers will carry obituaries, the Natal Witness serves Pietermaritzburg area and the Daily News and Natal Mercury the Durban area.
You can contact the Pietermatizburg archives giving them what information you have and see if they can help.
pmbarchives@dact.kzntl.gov.za
I have contacted them a few times over the years and they have always been very helpful.
Sue
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There is in fact no 'official transferring' of any estate files from the Master's Office to the Archives. That is a widely-held misconception. The reason estate files may be held at archives is that there is no space to keep them at the Master's Office or its various off-site satellite storage areas, not necessarily in Pietermaritzburg by the way. At Pietermaritzburg Archives no estate files after circa 1975 are held at the archives and must be tracked down at the Master's - no easy task. Estate files held by the Master are indexed by date not by surname. Phone the Master's Office in Pietermaritzburg and ask where a deceased estate file for 2013 would be stored. At that point you would need a local researcher or volunteer to find and peruse/photograph the file.
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My understanding is you can search for the estate files using this link http://www.justice.gov.za/master/maseti/maseti.html#sthash.v8gb2LFr.dpbs
Once you find the file number you can apply for the file.
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Thanks for your response. I am not sure about the procedure involved as you describe. When you say apply for the file (once the file number is found), do you mean a human being has to peruse or photograph the original - wherever it is held, in Pietermaritzburg or elsewhere?
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Hi Mole what I have been told is that the File can be found using the Maseti files. In this case the person knows they are looking for a file in Durban so they need to look in the Durban Xcel file. Using CTRL-F will allow them to search for the surname. Once they find the Estate File number they need to contact that Masters office to see if they can obtain a copy. I put this on the SA Genealogy group on FB and this is what they gave me. Hope this helps.
Some Cape Town masters office files are online here https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/2156332, but for the other masters offices you need to contact the masters office. Not an easy task!
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Thank you for that. Time to test the procedure methinks! Best Wishes, Mole
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Hi...
Sorry for the delay in getting back to you its been quite a while since I looked at all of this and got a bit behind.
I have the attorneys address but am led to believe that the estate documents cannot be released as the liquidation and distribution has not been completed .??.
So not really sure what to do next.
Thanks for your help.
Robin.
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Estates can take up to 2 years to finalise before finally being wound up. If it is a complicated estate it can take much longer. I have seen some that have taken up to 5 years to settle.
You could try by just asking for the Death Notice that goes with the file from the attorney that only contains information on the deceased and not the size and what was left in the estate. They may be willing to release that to you if you explain what you want it for.