Register a deceased estate

What you'll usually need

Tick things off as you gather them. Your ticks are saved on this phone only.

• A death notice form, filled in and signed by you
• An inventory form listing everything the person owned, signed by you and two independent witnesses
• The death certificate. You can register without it, but the estate can't be finished without it
• The original will, if there is one
• Your own ID
• Proof of ownership for every house, stand or piece of land on the inventory
• Details of the marriage, if the person was married: spouse's name, date and place of the marriage, and whether it was in or out of community of property
• The full names of the person's children, and the date of birth of each child under 18

Send this list to yourself

Steps

1. Act within 14 days. If the person left any property or a will, the nearest relative must register the estate within 14 days of the death.
2. Get the two forms. You need a death notice form and an inventory form. Ask for both at any Master's office.
3. List everything. On the inventory, list houses and land, vehicles and other belongings, bank and mobile money accounts, and money owed to the person. Sign it in front of two independent witnesses.
4. Hand in the forms. Take them to any Master's office. Registration is free. If there is no Master's office near you, you can hand the death notice to the magistrates court for the district. The court sends it on to the Master.
5. Go to the edict meeting. If there is no will, or the executor named in it can't act, the Master calls a meeting to choose an executor. The spouse, children, other relatives, beneficiaries and creditors are called to it.
6. The executor gets letters of administration. This document from the Master is the executor's legal authority to deal with the estate. If more than one person wants the job, the Master prefers the surviving spouse, then the next of kin.
7. The executor pays debts. The executor advertises for creditors to claim within 30 days to 3 months, then pays the debts. Funeral costs are paid first.
8. Check the account. Within 6 months of getting letters of administration, the executor must give the Master an account showing how the estate will be shared. You can inspect it, and you can object in writing to the Master before the inspection period ends.

Good to know

• Master's offices are in Harare, Bulawayo, Masvingo, Mutare, Chinhoyi, Gweru, Victoria Falls and Chitungwiza.
• The Harare head office is at Master's House, corner Herbert Chitepo Avenue and Sam Nujoma Street.
• Bulawayo: 5th Floor, Compensation House, corner J.M.N. Nkomo Street and L. Takawira Avenue. Gweru: 2nd Floor, First Mutual Centre, corner 5th Street and Robert Mugabe Way.
• If there is no will, the surviving spouse is entitled to the house the couple lived in and the household goods, if they are part of the estate.
• If the person lived under customary law, the family meets with the Master to choose an executor. The executor must be a family member or a registered estate administrator. The executor drafts an inheritance plan with the family and beneficiaries, and the Master must approve it.
• A customary marriage counts for inheritance under customary law even if it was never registered.
• If the surviving spouse was married in community of property, they must make the inventory within 30 days. In other cases it is 14 days.
• In 2026 the Master's Office asked families to finish old registered estates by 31 July 2026. Its spokesperson later said this was not a cut-off, and late files would be dealt with one by one. If your family's estate was never finished, contact the office.