SOUTH AFRICA'S WORST ESTATE EXECUTORS

NEVER EVER nominate Standard Bank Wills and Trusts as your executor! Please think of the loved ones you leave behind- dealing with loss and grief is difficult enough without the nightmare of having to deal with Standard Bank as the appointed executor. It took over 2 years, with serious pressure from our side, for them to wind up my mom's estate, but over 3 years later, and we are still dealing with their incompetence and finding things that were not done correctly or even done at all. 1) The worst communication I have EVER experienced. (The most recent- I emailed the regional manager over a month ago to ask for confirmation of transfer of shares- I have followed up numerous times- NO REPONSE) 2)There is a HUGE staff turnover- we dealt with 3 different estate administrators- each time one left- noone bothered to inform us. The result is noone knows what is going on. We were contacted (because STD Bank never rep**** to them) about an investment that should have been transferred but never was. They were paying interest into the estate account and it was being returned. Their emails to the estate administrator ignored. The regional manager tells us the account is still open and they can transfer- only for it to be rejected again!! And then to be told it's actually closed! 3)They appoint *********** service providers- eg the conveyancing attorneys took months and months to complete the transfer of house. We were **** to about deadlines, and were promised things had been done which we found out hadn't. When it finally was transferred there was an error in the title deed. Over 9 months later they corrected this- but for 2 months no one told us it had been done. I had to follow up to find out. We finally get a copy of the amended title deed only to find another error! A typing/spelling error this time- however one would expect it to be double checked when you are resubmitting. (Side note- never use Heidi Van Der Meulen Attorneys!) Standard bank have gladly take their 3.5% cut, however have not completed all that should have been done in their role as executor- over 3 years later! They have lost 5 of our friends and family who had them as the nominated executor who have moved as a result of hearing all the trouble we've had. And I will continue to tell people, in the hope that others don't have to go through the same stress when they loose a loved one.