Despite Estate Planning and Administration rising in prevalence as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and fears over mortality, data from the Master's Office, which administers the estates of deceased and insolvent people, indicates that 70% of South Africans still don't have a will in place. Very few are also aware of the numerous costs associated with winding up an estate. This makes Estate Administration a complex task, too often hampered by painstaking manual processes, administration and communication delays, and conflicting requirements.

“Estate Administrators who can effectively cut through red tape are always sought after for their meticulous planning, execution and record keeping, but all of this adds to an already heavy workload for them,” says Terrance Naidoo, Chief Technology Officer at LexisNexis South Africa.

“Clients expect speed, transparency and good guidance. However, when administrators are overwhelmed with red tape, they cannot focus on the things that matter. That’s why we’ve developed and launched Lexis Deceased Estates, drawing on our history as LexisNexis of delivering state-of-the-art legal technology platforms and solutions to advance the rule of law and streamline our customers’ work processes,” he adds.

Lexis Deceased Estates provides cutting-edge Estate Administration technology and ensures efficient workflow for quick turnaround times and regular reporting on the progress of an estate.

Designed for estate administrators, executors, legal professionals and financial practitioners, this always-on tool enables users to manage the full estate administration process from reporting to the Master through to reconciliation – all online, all in one place, wherever they are. This includes workflow, document automation, client communication, data capture and the liquidation and distribution account.

“In a post-Covid-19 world, with virtual working and hybrid working now a growing reality, investing in technology that maximises your efficiencies and frees you up to do more valuable work is even more critical,” says Naidoo.

“Lexis Deceased Estates can help you to speed up processes and leave you with the time to do what matters most. Human error is removed with the liquidation and distribution account calculation and production, processes are streamlined, and timelines ultimately reduced in winding up the Estate,” he adds.

Want integrated, automated estate management that is truly next-gen? Look no further than Lexis® Deceased Estates to improve your efficiencies, reduce costs and maximise your executor fees.