If you’re wondering whether you
need a will, you probably do. 70% of South Africans die without a valid will,
leaving their families to deal with a great amount of administration, while
grieving.
By creating a will, you protect
your family by lessening the administrative burden while grieving your death
and allowing them to get access to funds or assets which could be essential for
their ongoing maintenance and support.
If you die without a will, your
estate is administered in terms of the laws in the Intestate Succession Act,
which prescribes a structure for dividing up your assets between family.
To appoint your own executor
Writing a will allows you to
appoint an executor who will take care of the administration of your estate
upon your passing. Quickwill allows you to choose your own executor, but
provides the option of choosing the Quickwill Estate Administrators in the
event that you have no one of your own to appoint. Quickwill's Estate
Administrator is the law firm, Fairbridges Wertheim Becker Inc., with a
presence in both Cape Town and Johannesburg.
We recommend you choose your
own executor, who can then negotiate the legally prescribed maximum fee of 3.5%
(plus VAT) on the gross value of your estate, when the time comes. By
appointing the executor you are eliminating the process where your family need
to nominate executors (with motivation) which then needs to be approved by the
Master of the High Court before they can proceed with the administration of
your estate.
Easily accessible inheritance to minor children
Another consideration with
minor children is to ensure that they can readily access their inheritance.
This can be achieved by leaving their portion of the inheritance to your spouse
and their parent with the understanding that they will apply this inheritance
towards the care of the family. Alternatively, you can create a Children’s
Trust in terms of which the children’s inheritance is kept and managed until
the trust terminates. You can choose when the trust terminates. In the absence
of an arrangement like this, the children’s inheritance will be held by the
Guardian’s Fund (a government association) and their guardian’s will have to
apply for funds to be released as and when the children need it, making it a
slow and administratively intensive process.
For swift administration of your estate and peace of mind
You
may find yourself in a situation where you do not have a lot of assets or
money, and think that it’s not necessary for you to have a will because your
estate is too small. If you have people who are dependant on you for financial
help for schooling or medication for instance, having a will ensures that the
monies that can help them is released much sooner than if you were to die
intestate.
To leave gifts or assets to specific people / charities
Should you have assets or money
that you want to leave to specific people or charities, it is important to put
those in your will, otherwise those wishes of yours cannot be legally adhered
to.
It’s clear that having a will safeguards and protects your family, while ensuring your wishes are adhered to and your estate is administered in an organised and swift manner.
Start
drafting your will now at www.quickwill.co.za! We have online support to
help you through the process if you get stuck or have any questions.