Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa February/ March 2020 | Page 30

ACQUIRING
You’ve recently inherited
property, what’s next?
AMY STEADMAN
Inheriting a property, especially after the loss of a loved one can
be a trying time for everyone involved and comes with a level of
responsibility. The more you know, the more informed decisions
you can make on your recently acquired real estate in a way that
makes you feel at ease.
Sell or keep?
Many factors come into play when deciding to sell or keep an
inherited property. Fees, duties and tax all from part of the cost
involved and are often a concern for beneficiaries. Fees such as
transfer duties (involving the process of moving a home into
the inherited owners name) are usually paid out of the estate.
It’s worthwhile knowing if capital gains tax applies as that is an
extra deduction from the capital the property produces and apart
from that the only real cost is settling debt and completing any
maintenance and improvements on the property. Sometimes
this process of settling a deceased estate can be lengthy but if it’s
simple and it shouldn’t take more than a year to finalise.
There are different types of estate transfers. Another one
involves the heir selling the property before he/she has taken
Existing bonds
Supposing the deceased has a will in place, it will assist the
surviving joint bond holders when transferring the property
into the beneficiary’s name. The bond will then be carried
over into his/her name in approximately two weeks but
would take significantly longer with no will. No transfer duty
is applicable to chosen heirs, even if the property is agreed
to be split amongst two or more heirs. This doesn’t not
exclude conveyancing fees.
Property owned
as joint tenants
with right of
survivorship
(JTWROS) passes
directly to the
surviving joint
owner(s) upon
the death of an
owner. Property held
in a living trust
passes directly to
the beneficiaries
designated
under the trust
instrument. Solely-Owned
property passes
to beneficiaries
designated
under a will or, if
there is no will,
under the laws of
intestacy. Death benefits
payable under
an annuity or life
insurance policy
pass directly to
the beneficiaries
designated
under the
annuity contract
or insurance
policy. Death benefits
payable under
retirement plans
(including IRAs)
pass directly to
the beneficiaries
designated
under the
retirement plan.
Non-Probate
Property Non-Probate
Property Probate Property Non-Probate
Property Non-Probate
Property
SOURCE Igrow
28
transfer from the deceased estate. The third scenario would be
for the property is sold by the executor directly to a third-party
purchaser. Once the registration of the transfer is completed
the proceeds are paid into the deceased’s estate bank account
to be dealt with by the executor.
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020 SA Real Estate Investor Magazine