Executor or Executioner? Choosing the Right Person for Your Estate

Life is a difficult enough journey, but as we draw ever nearer to its conclusion, the need to ensure that our affairs are in order becomes more and more pressing. For those of us approaching the milestone 60’s we become a little more concerned about these matters, and rightly so. The decisions we take now […]

NATIONAL FREE WILLS WEEK

The Law Society of South Africa aims to give back to the general public through various initiatives, one being the annual NATIONAL FREE WILLS WEEK.  This year the FREE WILLS WEEK will be running countrywide from 7-11 October 2013. During this week, participating attorneys will draft basic wills free of charge. However, only a new […]

IS FIXED PROPERTY IN A TRUST STILL VIABLE?

Gerrie Vosser examines the tax and costs related to different scenarios in order to determine whether it is still a feasible option to hold fixed property in a trust. For many years the high transfer duty rate applying to trusts made it less attractive to purchase fixed properties in trust, a situation that changed, quite unexpectedly, for the better when […]

7 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD HAVE A VALID WILL IN PLACE

When administering and winding up estates, one realises the crucial importance of a will.  This might be one of the most important documents you will draft and sign during your lifetime.  Death, in itself, is such a difficult time for the loved ones you leave behind. Your will (or the lack thereof) should not complicate […]

ADMINISTRATION OF ESTATES

REMOVAL OF EXECUTOR/EXECUTRIX Generally, upon the appointment of an Executor/Executrix via the issuing of the Letters of Executorship by the Master of the High Court, he/she is given the control and overall custody of all the assets of the deceased so as to proceed with the administration of the estate in question. However, with this control and custody comes […]