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Filter: Estate Planning
The Costs of Deceased Estates Explained

04 October 2024,  Jan van Zyl

An important function of an executor, the person who is appointed by the Master of the High Court to administer... a deceased estate, is to account for the liabilities in the estate of the deceased. Keep in mind that only once the liabilities in the estate have been discharged can the heirs receive their inheritances. In this article, the various costs and expenses involved in administering a deceased estate are explained.

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4249
Article
Understanding Estate Massing in Community of Property Marriages

05 July 2024

In community of property marriages, spouses often combine their estates, or mass their estates, to ensure that certain assets go... to specific beneficiaries. This is done while still ensuring the surviving spouse's welfare and protecting assets from being misused after the first spouse passes away. This article will explain the necessary conditions for this estate combining process.

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3347
Article
Can a Testator Disinherit Their Surviving Spouse?

03 October 2023

The Maintenance of Surviving Spouses Act 27 of 1990 permits surviving spouses to seek maintenance from the deceased spouse's estate... upon the marriage ending due to death. This claim lasts until the survivor's death or remarriage and factors in estate value, the survivor's financial circumstances, marriage duration, living standards, and age.

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1812
Article
Is a copy of a will valid?

12 October 2021

Both my parents recently passed away in a car accident. My father shortly before his death mentioned to me that... they recently had a new joint will drawn up. I’ve searched everywhere for the will and can only locate a copy of the signed will. Even their attorney does not have the original will. Can this copy be accepted as the valid will of my parents?

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811
Article
Divorce – Accrual – Living Annuities an Asset in The Estate

27 May 2020,  Nico le Roux

In all future divorce proceedings, in the absence of an agreement between the parties, an expert will have to be... appointed to determine the value of a party’s right to receive future payments in respect of the living annuities. The SCA has not provided a guideline as to how the calculation should be done and this could lead to further litigation, as currently, an annuitant may elect to drawdown at any rate between 2.5 or 17.5 per cent per annum.  

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957
Article
A Developer's obligations to existing lessees when establishing a sectional title scheme

09 March 2020,  Grant Hill

Does the Sectional Titles Act 95 of 1986 give effect to the principle of "Huur gaat voor koop" and afford... protection to lessees of flats in a proposed sectional title scheme? The Act imposes certain obligations on a developer that supports the principle and to a large degree affords statutory protection to lessees. This article highlights the obligations, namely the one of notice and the one of a statutory-created right of pre-emption in favour of a lessee.

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Article

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