Get a Will / Update your Will

Update your will regularly to ensure peace of mind Everybody needs to draw up a will. If you die without one, you will have no say in the way your estate will be distributed and those decisions will be made in accordance with the procedures laid down in law (Intestate Succession Act Caption " Even if you have a will, review it regularly, or when a significant event happens in your life.

Unfortunately, for a document that is so necessary, a will can be complicated to understand. The Fiduciary Institute of South Africa has put together some key pointers to help you draw up an executable will.

Many issues can affect your will: how you are married (or not married), taxation laws which include capital gains tax, donations tax and income tax, as well as the kinds of assets and liabilities you hold and the cash flow implications of your proposed will.

Even if you have drawn up a will before, you should review it regularly, or at the very least when significant changes occur in your life such as marriage, divorce, birth of children or retirement. An updated will does not immediately invalidate your previous one. A prior will is only invalidated if a later will specifically revokes earlier versions.

Ask yourself: do you know where previous versions of your will are kept? Especially if a later version will appoint different heirs or bequeath different amounts to them, you will need to contact the drafters of your previous wills to cancel them. Also, make sure your will is stored safely.

You need to look at whether you are entitled to bequeath the assets you want to list in your will. Problems often arise because assets can form part of a business or trust and while the person using an asset such as a car or house refers to these assets as their own, in fact they belong to the business or trust.

Having enough liquidity (cash) in your estate at the time of your death to settle any claims or liabilities is an important consideration. The funds can be part of your investments or, commonly, be raised through insurance police’s payable on your life. Not planning for sufficient liquidity can lead to delays in heirs sourcing financing or even the need to sell an asset to meet the debt.

If you own or partly own a business, this situation can create extra complexity in your will.
Similarly, be careful about your wording and exactly what you intend to bequeath. There is a world of difference between, "I leave my Ferrari to my son," and "I leave a Ferrari to my son."
The first stipulates it is the car that you own, whereas the second could mean that executors have to go out and buy a car to give to the son.

While you may want to leave a specific item (such as a car, house, boat or piece of furniture) to an heir in your will, it’s better not to specially bequeath each and every item in your estate to heirs. The work involved in identifying each item, having it valued and packed and disbursed can significantly delay the estate and be costly. There are other ways to achieve this in which the drafter of your will can guide you.
If you are married in community of property, you can only bequeath your half of the estate. Your spouse receives the other half. The joint estate is reported to and accounted for in the estate process.

On divorce, there is a three-month window from the date of divorce, during which should you die and you had left your estate to your now ex-wife, this bequest becomes null and void. After three months, if you have not drawn up a new will, will contents bequeathed to him/her will stand.

Anyone with general queries or wanting to find a will drafter in their area should e-mail info@trustfocus.co.za  or visit www.trustfocus.co.za for more information.