Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa April/May 2019 | Page 63

ESTATES
Death and Taxes and Wills
A to-do list when you’re dealing with
the demise of a loved on.
JOSE DELGADO
T
he morbid fact is that we are all going to die. Despite
this certainty, statistics show us that most people do
not have a Last Will and Testament. We are flabber-
gasted when we canvass delegates at our seminars and they
confirm this. We are not dealing with ignorant or uninformed
people, these are doctors, business people, even the odd Attor-
ney and Accountant and you know what they say about the
shoemaker…
Do not feel dejected. The reality is that this is not the ideal
dinner topic, so we set out a simple checklist of To-Do List for
when you have to deal with demise of a loved one.
The first call to action is to ensure that you have a valid Last
Will and Testament in place, the law is constantly changing
and you need to ensure that your will is up-to-date and in line
with all the recent beneficial changes that have been made, e.g.
maximising the full R 7 million abatement if you are married
Another example is you can now directly deal with a loan that
is due to you by a Trust. Make certain that your will is current.
The next steps to be followed are:
1. Contact us to assist you with the reporting of the
deceased estate and the appointment of the executor.
2. The reading of the Will and establishing whom the
nominated executors and heir are and in the event the deceased
had no will, we will advise on the nomination of Executorship
as well as succession in terms of the Intestate Succession Act.
3. Attend to amendments to the Trusts pertaining to
the trusteeship of the Trust structures and consult with
replacement Trustees and Trust Attorneys to obtain amended
letters of authority on all Trusts.
4. Attend and complete the statutory documents to register
the estate with the Master of the High Court
5. Gather as much information as possible regarding the
deceased’s estate and ascertain all the assets and liabilities
of the deceased (movable and immovable property, shares,
business interests, bank statements, credit card statements,
policies, savings, investments, annuities etc, Trust Deeds
and Letters of Authority and Letter of Wishes) – the more
information is gathered at the outset the fewer delays there
will be in the winding up the estate.
6. Attending to advise and assist in the opening of the
estate late bank account.
7. Advising and liaising with the family and heirs in the
drafting of any redistribution agreements, if necessary.
8. Attend to the advertisement in terms of section 29 of
Act 66 of 1965, drafting and submission of the Liquidation
and Distribution account with the Master of the High Court
as well as advertisement in terms of section 35 of Act 66 of
1965.
9. Sale, rental and transfer of movable and immovable
properties and other assets.
10. Winding up of the estate and attending to the final
distributions in accordance with the Last Will and Testament.
iProtect is able to assist you in drawing up a current and
valid Last Will and Testament and iProtect is able to attend to
the winding up and administration of a deceased estate on the
event of your demise or the demise of a loved one.
Further our iProtect Executor Exchange offering has a
superb document management storage solution that allows
clients to keep their Wills, medical aid, life policies, banking
details, investment details, identity documents, passports and
any other important documents in secure single repository,
this is an invaluable benefit to you.
SA Real Estate Investor Magazine APRIL/MAY 2019
61