Estate Intake and Reporting Officer

SUMMARY:
To manage the intake, reporting and pre-administration phase of deceased estates.

POSITION INFO:
A well established company in the financial services sector is looking for a Estate Intake and Reporting Officer to join their team. Your: Education : A relevant National Diploma (Paralegal, Law or Legal Administraion) or Degree (B. Com Law, LLB, BA Law, etc) Paralegal diploma, legal secretary qualification or equivalent legal administration qualification. Experience Required : Minium of 3 years 'experience in deceased estate administration support, fiduciary administration, legal practice support or an estate administration related professional services environment. Working knowledge of deceased estate reporting requirements and Master's Office processes. Strong document management, client communication and workflow tracking ability. Experience with Lexis Deceased Estates or comparable case management software. Experience within a trust company, fiduciary business or law firm deceased estates department. Familiarity with reporting requirements across more than one Master's Office region. Exposure to financial adviser networks or professional intermediary relationships. Will enable you to: Responsibilities Estate Intake & Case Establishment: Receive and process new deceased estate referrals. Engage with family representatives, heirs and financial advisers in a professional and empathetic manner. Obtain and verify the minimum documentation required to open a new estate matter. Open new matters on Lexis Deceased Estates or any equivalent system adopted by the company. Create and maintain complete electronic estate files in line with company file hygiene standards. Ensure all cases are accurately captured, classified and tracked from inception. Estate Information Gathering: Collect the information required for estate reporting. Compile preliminary schedules of assets, liabilities, income flows, policies and supporting estate information. Obtain wills, death certificates, identity documents, marriage information and other supporting legal documents. Identify missing information early and proactively manage follow-ups. Coordinate document collection activities with the Junior Estate Administration Assistant. Master's Office Reporting: Prepare the estate reporting pack required for submission to the Master. Prepare and coordinate statutory forms, affidavits and supporting documents. Ensure reporting packs comply with the requirements of the relevant Master's Office. Track submissions and maintain proof of submission and status records. Escalate unusual, incomplete or high-risk matters to the Managing Director. Letters of Executorship Management: Own the workflow from intake to issue of Letters of Executorship. Monitor the progress of reported estates with the relevant Master's Office. Resolve routine queries and outstanding requirements. Maintain a central LOE tracker and identify delays or bottlenecks. Escalate aged or problematic matters for management intervention. Handover Preparation to Panel Administrators: Conduct a file quality review before handover. Prepare a structured administrator handover pack once Letters of Executorship have been issued. Ensure estate files are complete, indexed and supported by the required source documents. Coordinate allocation and handover to the appointed panel estate administrator. Record the handover date, responsible panel administrator and next action milestones. Stakeholder Communication & Reporting: Provide clear and timely status updates to advisers. Provide appropriate progress feedback to family members and nominated representatives. Maintain accurate case notes and communication records. Prepare weekly status reports for the Managing Director. Support advisor-facing service standards and protect company reputation as nominated executors. Governance, Compliance & Quality Assurance: Maintain confidentiality and POPIA-compliant record keeping. Support FICA and onboarding compliance processes. Apply EFBOE checklists, templates and workflow controls consistently. Identify operational risks, delays and rework trends. Contribute to improvement of Succession Desk SOPs, templates and reporting tools.