Last week was National Wills Week, which is always a great reminder to review your will. If you don’t have one, make sure you prioritise this immediately. To find out more about what should be in your will and what makes a will valid, I am speaking...
By Elmien Pols, Private Client Trust In these interesting times in which we find ourselves, it is not unusual for people to live together, have children, buy properties and run a business together without formalising their relationship, either...
Our Money Makeover candidates are all parents, so estate planning is a particularly important part of their financial plan. Read this article to get tips on what to look for when drawing up your will and making sure you have tax-effective estate...
A will is a very important document as it makes sure your wishes are carried out and protects your children when you no longer can. However, there are circumstances where your wishes can be superseded. Your retirement funds do not fall under your...
Who should you select as an executor and what happens to your retirement funds when you die? Maya (@mayaonmoney) and Mapalo (@womanandfinance) unpack what you need to consider when writing up your will. Further reading: What should you...
If you are formally employed you might have been required to join your company’s contracted retirement scheme, and they would have asked you to nominate a beneficiary for the proceeds in case you die before retirement. However, if you chose a...
Facing the breakdown of your marriage can be extremely painful emotionally, but with the right knowledge and planning, it needn’t be financially devastating as well, says Citadel Advisory Partner Kirsten Smit. “Getting divorced carries enormous...
By David Thomson, Senior Legal Adviser at Sanlam Trust Whether you are a godparent or you’ve asked someone else to be your child’s godparent, do you have clarity on what the term actually means? There is a critical difference between a godparent...
By Kezia Talbot, Legal Advisor and Remay de Kock, Legal Adviser at BDO SA. It is officially National Wills Week. Wills can get quite tricky – there are several common mistakes that are made when drafting a Will that can have a serious impact on...
Marilyn Monroe, Marla Maples, Michelle McGee, and Kristen Stewart – all successful women in their own right, with one controversial commonality – they were mistresses to married men. The term ‘mistress’ is an inflammatory one – a name as...
Changes to the taxation of estates could leave a surviving spouse with a hefty tax bill. Last month the Davis Tax Committee (DTC) issued an update on its tax recommendations especially around so-called “death taxes”. Some of the key recommendations are to remove...
By David Knott, fiduciary expert at Private Client Trust Buying insurance, and drafting and updating your Will, can be put next to each other on the list of things that we don’t really want to do, and often put off doing. For many of us insurance is a grudge purchase,...
Lebo writes: My brother has suggested that I form a family trust and put my house, car and investments into it in order to protect them. Is this a good idea? Frank Magwegwe, head of Momentum Personal Adviser Services at Momentum Retail replies: Trusts are very...
Many couples underestimate the importance of their marriage contract, and the implications it has in the case of death or divorce. Watch Episode 16 of the Change in your Pocket series for a detailed explanation of the various marriage contracts. – Video supplied by...
Tanya Lochner of Glacier Fiduciary Services discusses a buy and sell agreement as an exit strategy where there are two or more partners in a business. A business needs to prepare for the event of one or more of the partners dying or becoming disabled. Putting a buy...
If you have a will, you’ll have the last word on what should happen to the fruits of all your hard work when you are gone, right? Not quite, says Sanlam Trust legal adviser, Clive Hill. Wills have split up families, turned siblings into prime enemies and wasted...
Since the relaxation of exchange control, and as the Rand continues its downward slide, many South Africans are investing offshore with important consequences for their estate planning. If you have invested offshore, consider whether you need a foreign will to deal...
By Tanya Lochner, fiduciary specialist at Glacier by Sanlam In the foreseeable future retirement annuities will no longer fall outside of your estate for estate duty purposes, so bear that in mind when you do your estate planning. Since 2007, a retirement annuity (RA)...
By David Knott of Private Client Trust, the fiduciary services division of Private Client Holdings, and a member of the Fiduciary Institute of South Africa In many countries around the world there are forced heirship laws in place which have evolved over many years of...
As much as people realise there is a need to ensure they have planned for their family's financial future after their passing, many do not understand the different aspects of estate planning and the negative impact that a lack of planning can have on their family....