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Listen: Sort out your will this Wills Month

by | Sep 18, 2024

September is Wills Month, a Capital Legacy initiative inspired by National Wills Week, aiming to help more South Africans get their wills drafted at no cost. Having a valid will is essential, but many of us delay it due to time constraints.

Did you know that the number-one reason South Africans don’t have a will is procrastination? Yet many of us find time for leisure activities and other things!

A recent survey by Capital Legacy showed that 37% of respondents who didn’t have a will attributed it to lack of time, followed by 18% believing they didn’t need a will, and 12% saying they didn’t know where to get their will drafted.

I sat down with Deenisha Nadesan, Executive Director of Estates at Capital Legacy, to discuss the common pitfalls people encounter when drafting their wills and how to avoid them.

For more articles on Wills, visit the My Estate section of this website.

Wills 101

To ensure your will is valid in South Africa, it must meet these requirements:

  • The person making the will (testator) must be 16 or older.
  • The will must be physically signed in wet ink, in other words pen on paper – not electronically.
  • Each page and the end of the will must be signed.
  • Two competent, independent witnesses must also sign the will, being present at the same time as the testator. The witnesses must be at least 14 years old and of sound mind, not mentioned in the will as executor, trustee, heir, legatee, or beneficiary, and not the spouse of anyone named in the will.

Three things you probably haven’t considered (but should!)

Trusts for minor children

If you have young children, consider setting up a testamentary trust in your will. This allows you to appoint a trustee to manage the inheritance on behalf of your children until they reach the age that you specify in your will. In South Africa, minors cannot inherit directly, so a testamentary trust ensures that their inheritance is managed responsibly and according to your wishes.

How your antenuptial agreement affects your will

Antenuptial agreements dictate whether you’re married in or out of community of property, impacting the division of assets and debts upon your death.

Charitable giving

Consider leaving a portion of your estate to a charity or cause you care about. This is not only a meaningful way to leave a legacy but such bequests can also have tax benefits for your estate.

Five consequences of not having a will

  1. The government decides the distribution of your assets according to intestate law, which may not align with your wishes.
  2. There will be delays in settling your estate due to the absence of clear instructions.
  3. There could be family disputes over asset distribution.
  4. Unintended beneficiaries could end up receiving your assets.
  5. There would be no provision for, or nomination of, preferred guardians for your minor children, leaving their future uncertain. (The same would apply to your furry children.)

How important do South Africans think wills are?

The Capital Legacy survey revealed that wills top South Africans’ to-do lists in terms of how they rank personal finance tasks:

  1. A will
  2. Medical aid
  3. Retirement savings
  4. Life insurance
  5. Home and car insurance
  6. Funeral plan

It seems many people do understand the importance of having a will, but procrastination remains a common obstacle to getting one drafted, with an estimated 70% of South Africans not having a valid will in place.

Let Wills Month be your reason to get your will drafted!

National Wills Week 2024 takes place from 16 to 20 September this year. The Law Society of South Africa introduced this initiative to encourage the public to have their wills drafted with the incentive that participating law firms offer free will-drafting for a week.

This podcast was sponsored by Capital Legacy.

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Maya Fisher-French author of Money Questions Answered

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