Your Will - It's Legal, but is it practical??

Yes, it's important that your Will is legally correct, but it is also important that it is practical to implement.

Some important tips - check if your Will complies:

1. Have you nominated an alternative beneficiary if the person you chose happens to predecease you?

2. If you are leaving cash legacies, do you have the funds to pay these, or will some of your assets have to be sold?

3. Do you have insurance to pay any outstanding bond on your property in full?  In that way, you protect your family's home.  I think this is the most important thing you can do for them.  Contact your Financial Advisor to assist you if you need insurance cover.

We look at the legal aspects, as well as the practicability of implementing your wishes, when we draw up your Will.

Contact us at 021-5511741W and we would be happy to assist you.

Why you should not draft your own Will

Read an insightful article by David Knott, a fellow FISA member, on the pitfalls of drafting your own Will at this link:
http://finweek.com/2014/05/26/insight-draft-will/

Apart from the notes in the above article, we find it very helpful to go through the practical aspects of their Wills with our clients.  These can be just as important as the legal aspects, as often we don't think through clearly the effect of our Will.  That is our job, to put things in perspective and to warn you regarding any possible problems arising from how you have set up your Will.  Give us a call at 021-5511741W if you would like to make an appointment to have a good look at your Will.   Our Wills service is a free service and we would be happy to assist you.

Some mistakes made by the rich and famous. :-)


The Ungrateful Living Jerry Garcia, lead guitarist of the Grateful Dead, executed his will in 1994.  Jerry Garcia was married 3 times and his assets and possessions were divided up between all three of his wives.  This was a result of a very unhappy widow, who then owed money to his previous wives.  Jerry’s will caused huge emotional distress amongst the women. Problems arose when alimony payments were cut off to the middle wife and she settled for significant less than she was owed, causing  a nasty fight. It should have been mandatory for Garcia to provide separate rolls for his beneficiaries and executors. 
Takeaway: Choose an unbiased person, such as a lawyer, to be the executor. (The executor does not need to be a financial or legal expert, but such expertise can certainly help.) 

Elvis Presley The King of Executors Elvis Presley named his father as his Executor. Since children typically outlive their parents, this is generally not advised. However, in Presley’s case, his father actually served as his executor. 
Takeaway: Do not assign your parent as an executor.  He/she will most likely pass away before you or not long after, shifting the control to the court.

Read more: http://blog.passare.com/2013/09/18/disastrous-celebrity-executor-wars-part-1/ | Passare.com Blog

MASTER'S OFFICE MOVE

http://mycapetown.co.za/news/2013/09/modernised-masters-office-for-cape-town/
The Master of the High Court in Cape Town deals with all deceased estates of persons passing away in the Western Cape area.  They were located in the old SARS Building behind the Magistrates Court in Roeland Street, but have now moved to lovely new premises at 45 Castle Street, Cape Town.
The move seems to have gone relatively well.  They have 10 floors in this new building and have allocated the floors according to function, which seems to be working well.   Their opening hours for the public are from 8am to 1pm, Monday to Friday, and their new telephone number is 021-832 3000.
Parking is either in the street around the area, or you can try the Parking Garage at Picbel Parcade in Strand Street.
If you need any assistance with a deceased estate, please feel free to contact us at 021-5511741.
We act as executors and assist members of the public with the winding up of deceased estates.

Use an expert to draft your Will.

http://fidsa.org.za/press-release-use-an-expert-to-draft-your-will/
Have a look at this article regarding having your Will drafted.  Some interesting points.

I would add to it that when having someone draft your Will, look for someone who also has experience winding up deceased estates.   It is quite amazing how the practical application of a Will can be overlooked by someone who has a good grasp of the theory, but has not actually put it into practice.

At Proactive, we are looking at your wishes and what you want in your Will and then we also look at whether it is implementable and if there could be any problems arising.  Before finalising your Will is the time to sort them out, and not when it's too late and you are not around anymore.  So we make sure your Will is both legal and practical.

When last did you update your Will? If you have recently got divorced, did you know that in the first 3 months after the divorce, the State will regard your ex-spouse as having deceased and they will not benefit. However, after this period if you have not changed your Will, the State regards this as you making a decision to purposefully retain your ex-spouse as your beneficiary. In the throes of a divorce, we don't often think about our Wills. So if this has slipped your mind, give us a call to update your Will. Particularly if you have remarried, and want to change your beneficiaries.
Also, if you have had more children, or your beneficiaries have changed in any way, this is the time to update your Will.
Generally, you should not need to update your Will as and when your assets change. Your Will should, in most cases, be simple and adaptable so that you can buy and sell assets without having to go and change your Will every time.

If you would like to discuss any changes to your Will, or would like to update your existing Will, please feel free to contact us at 021-5511741 or 0732172644.

Can a family member be my executor?

I wanted to clear up this question for clients and people drafting their Wills. Yes, you can appoint a family member as your executor, but they will only be able to handle your estate if your assets are R125 000,00 or under. Once your assets go over the R125 000,00 mark, then the Master of the High Court insists that you obtain a professional executor to act as agents for the nominated executor. This professional executor would handle the winding up of the estate, as it is a complex task to deal with the whole process. If your estate is under R125 000,00, the Master's office have instituted a short cut procedure and it is very easy for a lay person to deal with the estate. These smaller estates are dealt with in terms of Section 18(3) of the Administration of Estates Act.
If you need any help or information regarding the completing of documents to obtain the appointment as executor if you are a family member, we do provide this service at a small fee. Please feel free to contact us.