National Wills Week: Do You Really Need 6 Types of Will?
At the heart of your estate planning is your will (“Last Will and Testament”). Without it, you lose your right to choose your heirs, to choose the executor of your estate, and to choose who will look after your children and your family trusts when you die. But there’s lots of online chatter about other types of “will” such as offshore wills, digital wills, business wills, ethical wills and living wills. What are they and do you really need to put them all in place?
Property Sales and Side Deals: Verbal Agreements Don’t Cut it!
“With a verbal agreement you have nothing but air.” (Author and entrepreneur Robert Ringer) 2026 opens with positive signals for our property market after last year’s encouraging GDP forecasts, a credit-rating upgrade, and a series of interest rate cuts boosting access to bond finance. All the signs point to a promising year for buyers, sellers, […]
Electronic Wills Aren’t Valid: Stick to Pen and Paper
“Let’s choose executors and talk of wills.” (William Shakespeare in Richard II) You may have read one of the many online articles about an electronic will being validated recently by the High Court. Don’t be misled into thinking that electronic wills are now valid as a matter of course – they most certainly are not. […]
Excuses, Excuses: Why People Don’t Make Wills, And Why You Must
“All that lives must die, passing through nature to eternity.” (William Shakespeare, in Hamlet) Master’s Office records suggest that less than a third of us leave behind a will when we die. That’s astonishing, given the fact that death is one of the few absolute certainties in our lives. Why do so many of us […]
How to Avoid Fighting Over the House – A Guide for Life Partners
“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of bandages and adhesive tape.” (Groucho Marx) It’s a perennial topic of dispute in our courts. A couple lives together, sharing the same roof and everything else in perfect happiness and harmony. Until it all goes south. Then the gloves come off and, particularly if our erstwhile […]
Do You Need a Second Will for Your Overseas Assets?
“Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone.” (Pablo Picasso) If you own assets outside South Africa, you may have wondered: Is my local will enough? This is a question many South Africans are asking, and the answer will depend on your own unique situation. Let’s break it down. […]