page-header

Get a FREE Will

Dangers of not having a Will

As explained on the LegalWise website
What happens if a person dies without a Will?
Download our Application Form for your FREE Will at the bottom of this page.
  • If a person (“deceased”) dies without a Will, his/her deceased estate (the assets s/he owned at time of death) will be distributed in terms of the Intestate Succession Act (“Act”). This is also known as the rules of intestate succession.
  • Due to there being no Will setting out the deceased’s wishes, the Act sets out certain rules in respect of how the deceased estate must be distributed to his/her heirs (persons who will receive the deceased’s assets).
  • The Act aims to distribute the deceased estate to close relatives first (in a specific order), for example:

• If the deceased is survived by only a spouse, the spouse will inherit his/her entire deceased estate. The term “spouse” also includes a same-sex civil union in terms of the Civil Union Act, a spouse in a religious marriage and polygamous spouses in terms of customary marriages. A spouse does not include a partner in a cohabitation relationship.

• If the deceased did not have a spouse and is only survived by his/her children, then his/her children will inherit the deceased estate in equal shares.

• If the deceased is survived by a spouse and children, then the spouse will receive a child’s share or R 250 000, whichever is the greater amount, and the children will receive equal shares of the balance of the deceased estate.

• If the deceased did not have a spouse or children, his/her parents, aunts/uncles and/or siblings will inherit from his/her deceased estate.

• If the deceased did not have a spouse, children, parents, aunts/uncles and siblings, his/her relatives most closely related to him/her will inherit in equal shares.

RO Attorneys Free-Will-Image-1

In light of the above, the deceased does not have any control of who will inherit from his/her deceased estate if s/he dies without a Will. This might lead to instances where someone may inherit even if the deceased may have never wanted that persons to benefit from his/her deceased estate.

When to update or review your Will

It is recommended that you review your will promptly after significant changes in your life, such as marriage, the birth of a child and retirement. Failure to do so could cause problems.

The Testators freedom to decide about the distribution of his/her estate, after they passed away, is protected by the Wills Act 7 of 1953, and the  Proper Administration of Deceased Estates can be complimented with a well written Will.

Your last Will and Testament is your final instruction to your loved ones on what needs to be done with your estate, and how it should be distributed.

background
Download Our Wills Application Form, Complete the form & return to us via email
Remember to attach a copy of your ID when returning to us