A Debtor may apply for the acceptance of the surrender of his estate. The surrender of a  debtor’s estate is, however, primarily for the benefit of creditors, not for the relief of harassed debtors. There are very stringent procedures laid down by the Act and the Court will not accept the surrender of the estate unless it is satisfied that the formalities have been complied with, that the debtor’s estate is insolvent, that the debtor owns enough sufficient realisable property to defray the costs of sequestration which will be payable out of the free residue of his estate and it will be to the advantage of creditors if the estate is sequestrated.

3. Application For The Sequestration Of a Debtor's Estate

3.1	A creditor who has a liquidated claim against the debtor for R100,00 or more may apply to Court for the sequestration of the debtor’s estate.
3.2	The estate of any debtor who has committed an act of insolvency, as laid down by the Insolvency Act, or who is de facto insolvent may be sequestrated.
3.3	The Applicant must furnish security for the payment of all fees and charges necessary for the prosecution of the sequestration proceedings, and of all costs of administering the estate until a trustee has been appointed. The application is one brought before the High Court, and once again there are stringent requirements, that have to be followed and information supplied, before the Court will grant the Order.
3.4	Apart from providing the above, the Court will not grant an application for the sequestration of a debtor’s estate, if the following is not proved:
	3.4.1	That the applicant has established against the debtor a liquidated claim for not less than R100,00; and
	3.4.2	The debtor has committed an act of insolvency, or is factually insolvent; and
	3.4.3	There is reason to believe that it will be to the advantage of creditors of the debtor if his estate is sequestrated.
3.5	Once this has been established the Court has a discretion whether to grant a provisional order and thereafter a final order. The Court, however, has an overriding discretion which it has to exercise judicially upon consideration of all the facts and circumstances of the particular case. Once the provisional order has been granted, the Court will simultaneously grant a Rule Nisi calling upon the debtor to appear on a date mentioned in the Rule to show cause why the estate should not be finally sequestrated. The order provisionally sequestrating a debtor’s estate, must be served on the debtor in accordance with the Rules of Court. If on the return date the Court is satisfied that the three criteria mentioned above, have been met, the Court may sequestrate the estate of the debtor. A degree of proof required when application is made for a final order or sequestration is higher than that required for a provisional order of sequestration.
3.6	If the Court sequestrates the estate of a partnership it must simultaneously sequestrate the estate of every member of that partnership other than those expressly excluded in Section 24 of the Insolvency Act.
3.7	A person married in community of property has no separate estate and in insolvency proceedings it is the joint estate of both spouses, which must be sequestrated. Where a person married in community of property is trading in partnership with another person and it is sought to sequestrate the partnership, the correct procedure to follow is to sequestrate first the partnership estate, then the joint estate and then the estate of the remaining partner. A partner may avoid the sequestration of his separate estate by undertaking to pay the debts of the partnership within a period determined by the Court or by providing security for such payment to the satisfaction of the Registrar.
3.8	A friendly sequestration takes place where a creditor, because he is kindly disposed towards the debtor whom, he perceives, is harassed by other creditors, steps in and without any collusion between himself and the debtor applies for the sequestration of the debtor’s estate. A friendly agreement between the sequestrating creditor and the debtor is not sinister, provided the creditor has a liquidated claim of not less than R100,00 against the debtor and the debtor has either committed an act of insolvency or is in fact insolvent, and provided that it will be to the advantage of the creditors of the debtor if his estate is sequestrated.
3.9	The Court, however, has a discretion and if it appears to the Court that the application is primarily designed for the relief of the debtor, the Court may refuse to grant the order.

4. Rehabilitation : General

4.1	General
	The rehabilitation of an insolvent brings the sequestration of his estate to an end, his debts are discharged and he is relieved of all disabilities ensuing from the sequestration. He is enabled to start afresh and re-establish himself, without the embarrassment of creditors pressing him for payment of debts, which he cannot pay.
4.2	Who may apply and when may be applied
	4.2.1	Offer of Composition
		An insolvent may apply for rehabilitation if he has entered into a composition with his creditors and has obtained from the Master a Certificate of Acceptance of the Offer of Composition which Certificate shows that payment has been made, or security given for payment, of not less than 50 cents in the Rand for every concurrent claim proved or to be proved against the estate
	4.2.2	Lapse of time
		Once a period of 12 months has elapsed from the confirmation of the first trustee’s account of the estate, an insolvent, subject to the provisions below, may apply.
	4.2.3	Qualifications are:
		4.2.3.1	If an insovlent’s estate was sequestrated before, he may only apply for rehabilitation after a period of three years from the date of confirmation of the first account.
		4.2.3.2	If an insolvent has been convicted of any fraudulent act in relation to his insolvency he may only apply for rehabilitation after a period of five years has elapsed from the date of his conviction.
		4.2.3.3	An insolvent cannot obtain the rehabilitation order before the expiry of a period of four years from the date of the sequestration, unless the Master has recommended that he be rehabilitated. The Master’s recommendation must be based on all the information available to him.
		4.2.3.4	An insolvent may apply for his rehabilitation after a period of a six months has elapsed from the sequestration of his estate i.e. no claim has been proved and he has not been convicted of any fraudulent act and his estate has not been sequestrated before.
		4.2.3.5	An insolvent may apply for rehabilitation at any time after the Master has confirmed a plan of distribution providing for payment in full of all proved claims, with interest and all the costs of sequestration.
4.3	An application has to be brought to the High Court for rehabilitation of an insolvent’s estate. Once again, there are stringent requirements, which have to be met before the Court will grant the order.
4.4.	Automatic Rehabilitation
	An insolvent had rehabilitated by the Court within a period of ten years from the date of sequestration of his estate is deemed to be a rehabilitated after the expiry of that period, unless the Court, on an application of an interested person after notice to the insolvent, orders otherwise before the expiration of the period.