The importance of a Will

A Will is vital for anyone, more so when you have property and dependants. With a professionally drawn up Will, you get to decide who gets your property when you die rather than leaving it up to the legal system.

It also enables you to set out exactly what must happen to your property, how your estate must be administered and what financial security is provided for your dependents. A spouse and minor children can for example be taken care of immediately without delay.

Your Will should be updated regularly, especially when there is change in your circumstances. Such a change could be in the form of a marriage or birth of a child, acquisition of property, wealth or a business, the death of a loved one, divorce or emigration. These changes could affect how you want your assets to be divided upon death.

A Will drawn up professionally by an attorney means that your estate can devolve efficiently, cost-effectively and with minimal delay to your chosen beneficiaries. Your Will must take many things into consideration, the most obvious being nominating your heirs and the appointment of an executor to administer your estate.

A Will Trust can be created to control assets awarded to a minor child and you could also stipulate your choice of guardian to care for your minor children in the event of the untimely death of your spouse and yourself.

If you have an Inter Vivos Trust, which is set up during your lifetime, the Trust Deed may need to be reviewed, in particular with regard to the appointment of suitable trustees to manage the trust after your death.

Additional considerations when drawing up a Will include whether you have business interests which may be vulnerable and whether your mortgage bond is sufficiently covered by insurance. It is also important to check whether there will be sufficient liquidity in your estate to pay your debts and still provide financial security of your family.

If you have offshore assets, you also need to ensure that your Will is structured correctly to cover these. Finally, you need consider whether there may be Capital Gains Tax implications as well as whether you could potentially minimise estate duty.

Source: STBB

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