The Duties, Responsibilities and Risks of being a Trustee of a Trust in South Africa.

Because the passing away of a loved one leaves families (and friends) in pieces, not knowing which way to turn first. So let’s make it easier on them and ensure that your estate is perfectly set up long before you shuffle off your mortal coil. Be the early bird and help your beneficiaries catch the worm… the first step – your will.

A simple letter of direction or “assets log” can greatly assist your Executor to fulfil their role in the best, and most efficient way. The more your Executor knows about your Estate, the more he/she can gather the information themselves, without a great deal of expense incurred to your Estate during the information gathering process.

South Africa and the United Kingdom entered into an agreement in 1978, otherwise known as a Double Taxation Agreement. This agreement is to eliminate double taxation in relation to Estate Duty (Inheritance Tax).

In order to bring a sense of calm during this period of panic, it is recommended that you get your affairs in order and seek professional assistance, legal, financial and tax, relating to your estate as a whole. We are specialist private client attorneys and we are here to help you through this tumultuous time.

Choosing an executor can be stressful, particularly if you have more than one child, a complicated estate (i.e., many assets or debts), or you anticipate conflict among your beneficiaries. Here are some guidelines you can follow to facilitate the process.

To make sure your wealth and assets are managed to properly provide for your family in the event of your death, it’s imperative that you have an experienced attorney draft an estate plan that suits your individual needs.

Although it may seem like a good idea to draft your own will, in the long run it will cost more in terms of time and money than getting a qualified attorney to assist with doing it properly.

We recommend that you have separate offshore wills for every country in which you own offshore assets. The offshore will/s specifically deals with the distribution of your foreign assets, and is separate from your existing will, which governs your South African assets.

Ideally, your legal document should work like an efficiently planned-out road map so that the Master, courts and others in the legal profession will all understand exactly what your directions are and how to get to the intended destination. The statutes and the provisions in the document work together to accomplish this.