Update your will to avoid any problems
Dec 20, 2011 |
Penwell Dlamini |
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IT IS vital for everyone to have a will and to update it regularly.
DON'T DELAY: Tanya Cohen advises everyone to have a will.A will dictates how assets should be divided and dependants looked after when you are no longer around. It is probably the most important contract you conclude in your lifetime.
Tanya Cohen, head of Fiduciary at Glacier at Sanlam, said updating a will ensures that an estate is divided according to your true current intentions.
"If you are divorced and you do not amend your will to exclude your ex for more than three months after the divorce, an assumption is made that you want your ex to inherit. This may not be your intention," Cohen said.
Reasons to update your will:
- Any inconsistencies or inaccuracies in a will could lead to expectant heirs airing their grievances in court.
- Ensure that all your children are included in the will. If children and grandchildren are named individually in a will, it may happen that subsequent children, born after the will was drawn up , are excluded if the will is not updated.
- Any changes in one's relationship with an heir should be reflected in a will. If that relationship has changed, or become strained, it may lead to a change in your intentions about that heir's share of the inheritance.
- Ensure that the acquisition or disposal of significant assets is reflected in the will.
If one does not have a will, the Intestate Succession Act comes into effect. Intestacy rules have the following effect:
- Minors' inheritance has to be paid into the Guardian's Fund. If a will is in place, provision can be made for setting up a testamentary trust for minor s.
- Without a will, no guardian would be appointed for minors and the family and social services can nominate a person for appointment.
- The Master of the High Court will appoint an executor - not of your choice, which in itself will cause delays in the winding-up period.
- Where there are no descendants, an estate will pass to a surviving spouse, to the exclusion of siblings, nieces and nephews.
- If there is no family, the estate may be forfeited to the state after 30 years, after being advertised in the Government Gazette annually for that period.
Dec 20, 2011
MokankanyaneM
It is a reasonable option to have a will, though at times wills have led to people getting killed.I am still pondering on how to do it, honestly.Bank or law firm?
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