surviving spouse
While the proceeds of domestic life insurance policies are deemed property in a deceased estate, buy and sell cover is a notable exception. This insurance is taken out by business owners on each other’s lives so that, if one shareholder
Where bonded fixed property is bequeathed to your children, they may be required to register a bond over the property in their own name and, if they do not qualify for a bond, they may be forced to sell the
The death of the first-dying spouse is regarded as a disposal for capital gains tax purposes. Where the first-dying spouse bequeaths his/her share of the joint estate to the surviving spouse, the surviving spouse is treated as having obtained the
While corporeal property refers to physical, tangible property such as a vehicle or a home, incorporeal property includes non-tangible rights such as servitudes and leaves over immoveable property.
A common problem faced by many executors is that of illiquidity, which is where an estate lacks sufficient liquid assets to cover its debt and other financial obligations. In such circumstances, the executor will look to assets in the estate
Life insurance policies can be used to create liquidity in your estate and to make financial provision for your spouse and/or beneficiaries. However, as with other estate planning tools, it is essential to correctly structure your policy so that it
In a community of property marriage, all debt incurred by the spouses before and during the marriage forms part of the common estate, including maintenance obligations to a previous spouse or children from a previous relationship.
If immovable property in your estate is transferred to an heir – whether by testate or intestate succession - your estate will be required to pay the transfer costs, being the attorney’s conveyancing fees, in accordance with a sliding scale
The general principle of the accrual system is that each spouse is entitled to take out the asset value that he/she brought into the marriage, and whatever is built together during the subsistence of the marriage is shared equally. So,
In recent years, our common law regarding the rights of cohabiting couples has been tested – the result being that development has been made to accommodate the rights of those who choose to live together without getting married with one
