A will is a legal document by which you give instructions as to how your assets should be dealt with after your death.

If you die without a will, your assets will be distributed according to the law of intestate succession which can be disastrous to your loved ones.

Any person older than 16 years unless mentally incapable. This means the person should know he / she is creating a will and what the consequences are.

Being under the influence of alcohol or drugs or mental incapacity.

In short, in order for your will to be valid:

1 It has to be a written document,
2 It should be signed by the Testator in the presence of at least two competent witnesses in the presence of each other.
3 We suggest you and the witnesses sign all the pages of the Will.
4 Please note that a person signing as a witness (or his/her spouse) is not allowed to receive any benefit from that will. In other words, if you leave your whole estate to your wife, for example, and you have her sign as a witness, she is automatically disinherited! (Maybe a nice planning tool!)

Anyone aged 14 or older who is competent to give evidence in a court of law.

This is the person taking responsibility for the administration and winding up of your estate after your death. He/she has to report to the Master of the High Court. It can be your spouse, a family member, a friend, your accountant or your attorney. Preferably someone who knows something about your personal and financial affairs. Your Executor will be paid a fee called the Executor’s Fee. If you don’t know an appropriate person to act as Executor, we will appoint a professional for you to act as Executor. The Master of the High Court might require your Executor to furnish security in the performance of his duty. Our standard will exempt the Executor from the necessity to do so. Our standard will also makes provision for your Executor to appoint someone to assist with the job or do the job on his / her behalf (called the power of assumption).

The statutory fee that your Executor is allowed to ask, is 3,99% (VAT incl) of the gross assets of your estate. If you want us to appoint a professional to act as Executor, the fee will be calculated as 2,28% of your gross assets with a minimum fee of R11,400 (VAT incl).

If you have minor children, we suggest you appoint a Guardian should you and your wife die simultaneously. Your Guardian can be a close family member or friend. It need not be the same person as your trustee. The difference between your Trustee and Guardian, is that your Trustee is running the financial affairs of your minor children, whereas your Guardian is responsible for the general upbringing and well being of your children.

If you’re married, you and your spouse might want to have a joint will instead of separate ones for each of you. We also suggest a joint will where you’re married in community of property.

If you have minor children, we suggest you put up a testamentary trust. Any bequests to your minor children will be kept in trust by your trustees until they reach the age of 21 years at which stage the bequests will be distributed to them. If you and your wife should die simultaneously, the Trustees of the trust will look after the financial well being of your minor children.

If you create a testamentary trust, you have to appoint at least one Trustee to take care of the trust assets and manage the finances of the trust. It can be your spouse, a family member, a friend, your accountant or your attorney. Preferably someone who knows something about your personal and financial affairs. Your Trustee will be paid a fee for managing the trust assets. If you don’t know an appropriate person to act as Trustee, we will appoint a professional for you to act as Trustee.

There are no statutory fees set that your Trustee is allowed to charge. It normally is negotiated between yourself and the Trustee. If you want us to appoint a professional to act as Trustee, the fee will be calculated on a time spent basis, which currently is R654 (VAT incl) per hour with a minimum of R5,700 (VAT incl) per year.

While your Will stipulates how your assets will be dealt with after your death, your Living Will deals with matters such as what should happen should you develop a serious medical condition or other matters surrounding your death.

The definition of “married” has changed dramatically with the introduction of the Civil Union Act (CUA) which was passed through Parliament on 30 November 2006. In the past, you could only be “married” in terms of the Marriage Act no 25 of 1961, which in short meant that only two people of the opposite sexes could be “married” in terms of the formal process prescribed by the act. In terms of the CUB, two people of the same sex can now also be “married”.

Also see the definition of “married”. In terms of the Civil Union Act (CUA), the definitions of “spouse”, “husband” and “wife” and any referral thereto are extended to include “partners”, whether of the same or opposite sex as provided for in the CUA.