As cases of infection and death due to COVID-19 increase in South Africa, it is important to ensure that you have a will in place, or see if you need to update your will.
There are several strict requirements that need to be met, in terms of South African legislation, for the completion of a legally valid will, with problems unfortunately only being discovered when it is too late leading to disputes and costly litigation.
We highly recommend the inclusion of a clause in your will setting up a testamentary trust for your children to safeguard their educational, medical and maintenance needs, with them able to receive their full inheritance at an appropriate age of maturity.
We particularly recommend this if you do not trust the other parent or the potential legal guardians of the children, to appoint independent trustees who will be able to administer the funds for the benefit of the children.
With concerns about potentially being placed on costly life support, you can also complete a living will which sets out your intentions not to be resuscitated and/or kept alive artificially on life support, if you so wish.
Please feel free to contact our offices for us to assist you with all the technicalities and requirements for completing a legally valid will.
Author – Murray Taylor
