Who is allowed to have a letter of authority for my deceased aunt’s RDP house?

The long answer

When someone dies without a will, their estate (meaning their property like the RDP house and any other assets and debts) is administered under the Intestate Succession Act of 1987. 

Intestate succession is based on blood relationship in the following order:

• The spouse/s of the deceased

• The descendants of the deceased

• The parents of the deceased (Only if the deceased died without surviving spouse or descendants)

• The siblings of the deceased (Only if one or both parents are predeceased)

• When the deceased left only spouses and no descendants, the wives will inherit the estate in equal shares.

• When the deceased left spouses and descendants, the spouses and descendants will inherit the estate in equal shares, but

• Each wife should inherit at least R 250 000

• When the estate is not large enough to allow each wife to inherit

• R250 000, the spouses will inherit the estate in equal shares while the descendants will not receive anything.

So in the case of your mother’s late sister, if she has no surviving husband, but she has three surviving children, the estate is divided equally between the children. 

If she had no surviving husband or children, your mother would inherit the estate. 

As they are the heirs, your aunt’s three children must agree to nominate someone (it can be one of them, or someone else that they trust) to represent them and receive the letter of authority. That letter of authority gives the nominated representative the right and duty to administer the estate.