Wills are an important legal document containing the final wishes of how assets and other possessions get distributed after someone passes away.
A person who drafts a will is known as the testator (male) or testatrix (female).
Wills are important final wishes involving specific instructions on how one wants their estate handled after they have gone.
A testator can nominate guardians to care for their children.
According to section 2(1)(a) of the Wills Act 7 of 1953 (the Wills Act), the following are important to make a will valid:
Aodicils allow small changes to wills.
The biggest reason why wills are important is Intestate Succession.
Suppose a person passes away without a valid will in place. In this scenario, the estate will transfer according to the rules of Intestate Succession.
This transfer means assets will be seized by the government and distributed among beneficiaries closest to the deceased as the government sees fit.
Wills are important to be in place for the deceased family. Failure can lead to family disputes, misunderstanding, heartache and lost inheritance.
People inheriting are called heirs and legatees. Heirs are direct descendants of the deceased. In the case of intestate succession, heirs will most likely inherit even without a valid will. Legatees are only able to inherit if the will makes provision for them.
Power of attorney transfers authority.
Power of attorney is a legal document transferring authority from one person to another. For example, suppose a person suffers from a mental illness and can’t make sound decisions. In that case, they can transfer authority to another to make decisions on their behalf.
However, the person with the power of attorney cannot change a will. It is therefore important to update a will regularly.
Freedom of testation is the right of the testator to write their will as they see fit. They have the freedom to make provisions of their choice and confer benefits to whomever they choose, as long as it is lawful. An example of illegal testation would be to donate money to a terrorist organisation.
The easiest way to make important changes to a will is through a codicil. A codicil allows an update without having to redo everything. However, a testator must legally do the addendum to be valid, such as being witnessed by two individuals who are not beneficiaries.
To change a will entirely means revoking the previous document or stating in the new will that the last record is not valid.
Per stirpes mean the children of a beneficiary will inherit their assets.
Per stirpes is an important Latin term that is likely to appear in most wills. It is a legal term stipulating that their inherited assets would pass onto their children if a beneficiary were to die.
The testator may appoint any person to be the executor of their estate.
A common misconception is that an executor cannot be a spouse or family member. The opposite is true. However, the executor should have the requisite financial and legal knowledge to tie up an estate adequately.
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