About KayaLegacy

KayaLegacy is a free toolkit for South African families dealing with a deceased estate: calculators for the executor's fee, estate duty and capital gains tax on death, a "who inherits" calculator, a dated checklist for the Master's Office, and plain-English guides. It is part of KayaWise.

Why "KayaLegacy"?

"Kaya" is South African slang for home. A legacy is what a person leaves behind for the people they love. Settling an estate properly is the last practical thing a family can do for someone, and it should not take a law degree to understand.

Where our rules come from

• The Administration of Estates Act 66 of 1965 and its regulations (GN R473 of 1966 as amended) for reporting, executors, advertising, the liquidation and distribution account, executor's remuneration and Master's fees.
• The Estate Duty Act 45 of 1955 and the SARS Estate Duty page for the abatement, deductions and rates.
• The Income Tax Act 58 of 1962, the Eighth Schedule and the SARS Budget 2026 Tax Guide for capital gains tax on death.
• The Intestate Succession Act 81 of 1987, GN R921 of 2014 and the Master's guidance for inheritance without a will; the Wills Act 7 of 1953 for wills.
• The Master of the High Court pages on justice.gov.za for forms and procedures.
• Every rule in our code records its source link and the date we checked it, and each page shows those sources. Where we could not confirm something, we flag it on the page instead of guessing.
• Last full review: 30 October 2026.

What we are not

We are not attorneys, fiduciary practitioners or tax practitioners, and this is not legal or tax advice. Our calculators give estimates and our guides are general information. For a particular estate, speak to the Master's Office, an attorney, a fiduciary practitioner or a registered tax practitioner.

How the site is funded

The site may show clearly labelled display advertising in future. We do not use affiliate or referral links, we are not paid to recommend any executor, attorney or bank, and adverts never change a result.

Found a mistake?

Please tell us via the contact page. We correct verified errors quickly.