legacy
Where the sole surviving guardian of a minor child passes away without having nominated a guardian in terms of their will, the responsibility falls on the State to appoint a legal guardian for the child/children, which is not an ideal
While identifying your heirs is important, it’s also important to nominate successive heirs to deal with the eventuality that one or more of your heirs predeceases you. If you are silent on what happens in such circumstances, your executor must
Something that many people tend to overlook is that all previous Wills should be both physically destroyed and revoked in writing as failing to do so can cause uncertainty for those left behind -especially if one or more of the
Remember, the residue of your estate is what is left after all debts and estate costs have been paid, and after all, bequests have been made, so it is important to ensure that the inheritance intended for your heirs is
If there are specific assets in your estate that you intend bequeathing to your minor children, it is important that you provide for this carefully in your Will. Remember, in terms of our law, children under the age of 18
In terms of the Income Tax Act, death is considered a capital gains event and the deceased person is deemed to have disposed of his assets for an amount equal to the market value of the assets at the date
Living trusts are frequently used by divorcing spouses to hide assets so as to reduce the value of their estates. A spouse married with the accrual is free to set up an inter vivos without the consent or knowledge of
Once the spouses have made decisions as to what should be included and/or excluded from the accrual, each spouse must declare a commencement value for their estate from which point the growth in their respective estates will be gauged until
In order for your Will to be valid and to avoid contestation, ensure that you sign your Will in the presence of your witnesses and that you, in turn, watch them witness your signature. The validity of your Will can
A revocation clause is a paragraph inserted in your Will which revokes all other Wills that you have ever drafted and declares the current Will to be your Last Will and Testament. Although a testator is not legally required to
