ESTATE PLANNING
You need a will, but if you have more than one, make sure you know the rules
Your last will and testament is part of one's legacy and must therefore be given the attention it deserves to avoid disastrous consequences
Dying intestate or without a valid will, causes myriad problems, the greatest of which is that you cannot always be assured that the person that you want to receive your assets will do so. You can also not confirm who will be responsible for your estate (i.e. executor) or what happens to the funds in the event of a beneficiary being a minor. This together with numerous other considerations are dealt with in a professionally drafted will. So why the discussion on how many wills do I need? The use of multiple wills often arises when people also own assets in countries other than SA for different reasons. Some purchase assets using their various South African Reserve Bank allowances and some may have inherited assets from nonresident family members. Others may have worked in foreign jurisdictions for a time and some may have accumulated assets before permanently moving to SA. So why can a professionally drafted will not be used for one's worldwide assets? The short answer is that somet...
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