Provide for the protection of assets, reduction of risk and reduction of tax in the long term.

Personal Will Checklist

Is your will signed correctly:

• Your will must be signed by the testator and two competent witnesses on every page
• Although it is not a formal requirement your will should be dated on the last page
• Your will should be signed on all the pages by the testator and two witnesses while they are all present at the same time
• Any changes to your will must be signed in full by testator in the presence of the two witnesses that signed your will and should also be signed by them

It is important to note that the writer of your will, if the will is handwritten, and a witness to a will may not benefit from a will.

If you do not have a Will then the law of Intestate Succession will apply to your deceased estate and legislation will determine who receives what assets. Your wishes may therefore not be carried out. Furthermore the winding up of the deceased estate may be delayed and take longer than it should to be finalized.

You can only address the following issues by having a valid and up to date will:

• Protecting your hard-earned assets for the benefit of your spouse and children
• Your spouse may be unable to deal with finances on his/her own. How will he/she cope when you’re gone?
• If you are the owner of a business or professional practice, you need to consider issues such as how will your business continue to provide your family with an income when you are no longer able to and how will any business debts be repaid?
• Preserving your capital when you have a spouse or child who spends wildly
• If you are living with a partner to whom you’re not married, the law offers very little protection to this partner
• Protect the interest of your heirs, for example, by appointing a guardian for minor children and/or professional trustees to administer their inheritance

What others need to know:

• Whom you have appointed as Executor
• That your Executor should be notified immediately in the event of your death
• The whereabouts of your original Will
• Your wishes regarding funeral arrangements
• Whom to contact if you have donated organs or tissues as time is of the essence on such cases

 
Your Will should contain certain standard provisions. The following are examples of such provisions but are certainly not limited to these provisions:

• Revocation of previous Wills
• Nomination of Executor
• Provision for minor children
• A summary in terms of your wishes