Six disciplines, practised closely.

We provide comprehensive assistance in the administration of deceased estates, from the initial consultation and reporting of the estate to the Master of the High Court, through to the finalisation of the estate.

The administration of an estate is a formal, sequential process with strict statutory requirements. We take carriage of each stage so that heirs and executors are not left to navigate the Master's Office, the advertising requirements or the transfer of immovable property on their own.

• Reporting the estate to the Master of the High Court
• Preparation and lodging of the Liquidation and Distribution Account
• Estate duty returns
• Dealing with Master's queries
• Statutory advertising requirements
• Acquittances from heirs and creditors
• Transfer of immovable property forming part of an estate
• Finalisation and closure of the estate

We attend to property transfers and related conveyancing matters, providing clients with professional guidance throughout the transfer process.

A transfer touches the largest asset most people will ever hold. Our conveyancing work is carried out by an admitted Conveyancer and is kept transparent from the signing of documents through to registration in the Deeds Office.

• Residential property transactions
• Commercial property transactions
• Transfers arising from deceased estates
• Sale of property agreements
• Guidance through the Deeds Office process
• Related property transactions requiring an admitted Conveyancer

We assist clients with the establishment, structuring and administration of trusts.

A trust is only as sound as the instrument that creates it and the record that maintains it. We draft with the intended purpose of the trust firmly in view, and attend to the Master's requirements at each stage.

• Drafting of Trust Instruments
• Preparation of trustees' documentation
• Correspondence with the Master of the High Court
• Amendments to Trust Instruments
• Lodging of relevant documentation with the Master
• Ongoing structuring and administration advice

We draft and advise on a broad range of commercial and contractual agreements for entrepreneurs, businesses and private parties.

Agreements are drafted to be read later — under pressure, by people who were not in the room. We write them accordingly: clear on obligations, clear on remedies, and fitted to the commercial reality of the transaction.

• Sale of Shares and Loan Accounts
• Sale of Businesses
• Partnership Agreements
• Association Agreements
• Leases
• Sale of Property Agreements
• Employment Contracts
• Other bespoke commercial agreements

We assist clients with the preparation and drafting of Wills, with careful consideration given to individual circumstances, wishes and the intended distribution of assets.

Because we also administer estates, our drafting is informed by what actually happens once a Will is read — which ambiguities cause delay, and which provisions hold.

• Consultation on individual circumstances and intentions
• Drafting and preparation of Wills
• Guidance on the intended distribution of assets
• Review and updating of existing Wills
• Coordination with trust and estate structures
• Safekeeping and execution formalities

As a Notary Public, we attend to the preparation, execution, authentication and certification of documents and notarial instruments requiring notarial intervention.

Notarial appointment is a separate qualification from admission as an attorney. It allows us to deal with documents that require notarial execution or authentication for use locally and abroad.

• Preparation of notarial instruments
• Notarial execution of documents
• Authentication of documents
• Certification of documents
• Antenuptial contracts and related notarial deeds
• Documents requiring notarial intervention for use abroad