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Why it’s important to draw up a will

For many people, a Will is one of the things which they avoid thinking about, let alone act on. It could be a case of not realising that their estate or assets will still need to be handled when they pass away – regardless of whether they have a Will or not.

It makes more sense to dictate how this will be done according to your wishes than to let rigid laws take effect – because they will.

“I do not know any person who does not either owe or own something and, if that is the case, then everyone should have a signed Will,” says Geraldine Macpherson, Senior Legal Marketing Specialist at Liberty.

“Anyone who has assets, and children, a partner or relatives whom they wish to inherit, should have a signed Will.”

“Generally, people tend not to review their Wills until someone prods them to do so. In a lot of cases, we come across people who last did their Will 10 to 20 years ago. During this time their personal and financial positions have changed drastically, not to mention legislation,”

Factors to consider when drawing up your Will


Your Will should be written in the language that you actually speak at home and when you read it, it should say exactly what you want it to say. If there is any Latin or legalese in it that you are not sure of, make sure that those words or phrases are removed and written in your language of choice.

Get an independent third party to also read it to make sure that there are no ambiguities in the Will and to check that their interpretation is the same as yours.

Try to keep things simple and practical. While we all want to leave a legacy, the temptation to rule from the grave must not be succumbed to, as it tends to lead to very complex and often costly estate planning exercises that achieve very little at the end of the day.

Your Will must be in writing and signed by you on every page and the last page must be signed by you, in the presence of 2 witnesses, who also sign, and who are not going to benefit in any way from your Will.

Your Will should be dated as this can prevent any confusion should more than one Will be found at the date of your death.

What happens to your estate if you don’t have a Will?

In this situation the Intestate Succession Act will apply and your spouse and/or descendants (or ascendants, if you do not have any descendants) will inherit in a prescribed format.

If there are minor children their inheritance may end up being paid into the Guardian’s Fund, which is not ideal. This may also result in assets having to be sold, as the Guardian’s Fund may only receive cash.

Think about the devastating effect this could have not only on the surviving spouse, but also the children.

In a case where a person is married and no Will has been drawn up that same point mentioned above will be actioned. The spouse will inherit, but if there are children then the spouse and the children will inherit equally, provided that the spouse’s share must be at least R125 000 (provided there is sufficient funds).

What are the costs involved?

The price varies depending on the complexity. Some attorneys and trust administration companies will draft the Will for free, provided that they are appointed the executors.  Banks also tend to charge reduced fees, provided that they are the executors.

They do this because they will then be able to collect the executor’s fee of 3.5% when the estate falls in. If you require a complex testamentary trust to be included in the Will, then depending on the attorneys that you use,  the fee could be in the region of R10 000 – R15 000.

Who are the best people to approach to draw up a Will?

You can use a lawyer or a bank or a trust administration company. The more complex the Will, the greater the degree of expertise required of the drafter. It is wise to always refer to a professional person, someone who as their business, drafts Wills, in order to ensure that the Will that you have is not only technically sound (so complies with the legislation), but that it is also practical in operation.

Sometimes the things we want to have happen upon our death are simply not possible legally, or may be very difficult to achieve and an experienced drafter would alert you to this and propose an alternative solution.

Liberty Group is an Authorised Financial Services Provider in terms of the FAIS Act (Licence no. 2409). The information contained in this communication, including attachments, is not to be construed as advice in terms of the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act of 2002 ("FAIS") as the writer is neither an appointed representative of Liberty, nor a licensed financial services provider as contemplated in FAIS. Please consult your financial adviser should you require advice of a financial nature and/or intermediary services.

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