Don’t accidentally disqualify your chosen heirs from inheriting!
“Death is not the end. There remains the litigation over the estate.” (Ambrose Bierce) Your will (“Last Will and Testament”) will always be the keystone of your estate planning, and a recent High Court decision sounds yet another warning to beware the “do your own will” concept. By not having his will drawn by a […]
Is an electronic will valid in South Africa?
In terms of South African law, for a will to be accepted as valid by the Master of the High Court (a statutory body to which deceased estates are reported), it must comply with the legal formalities as set out in section 1(a) of the Wills Act, 7 of 1953 (hereinafter referred to as the Wills Act). The main requirements in terms […]
Signing a Will by making a mark
In a recent matter a Will, signed by the testatrix by means of affixing her fingerprint on the document, was not accepted by the Master of the High Court. The refusal was because the testator’s mark was not properly attested to by a Commissioner of Oaths. The Commissioner failed to follow the prescribed provisions of […]