will
When distributing your assets, the executor will first use your assets to pay the costs of administering your estate and to pay your creditors. Thereafter, your legatees will receive any legacies due to them in terms of any special bequests
The length of the winding up process largely depends on the size and structure of the deceased estate, but can also be delayed in instances where the deceased died of unnatural causes, where the Will is contested, where there are
When choosing witnesses for your Will, remember that no one who stands to benefit from your estate should be allowed to witness your Will. If a beneficiary to your Will also signs as a witness, he/she can be disqualified from
Whether or not you can draw from your investments depends on the type of investment you have in place. Legislation prohibits you from accessing funds held in provident and pension funds until the official retirement age of the fund.
While you are reassessing your life cover, take time to review the beneficiaries that you have nominated on your various policies and investments, including any retirement funds that you have in place.
Beware of nominating multiple executors as the logistics of three or more people dealing with SARS and the Master’s Office can be an impossible task.
Special trusts are those which are created for people with special needs, for example individuals with serious mental or physical disability and who are unable to provide for themselves financially.
Friendships and relationships evolve over time, and it may be that some of the trustees you nominated no longer fit the bill when it comes to administering your assets in the best interests of your loved ones.
In the absence of a formal agreement between the two parties, the couple’s financial arrangements can be particularly complex in the event of death or a terminated relationship.
If the executor you have nominated in your Will has subsequently emigrated from the country, now is a good time to amend your Will and nominate someone who is locally based.
