ESTATE PLANNING & ADMINISTRATION
ESTATE PLANNING
Estate planning is the process of managing your assets – simply put; being everything you own – while you are still alive and able to exercise your intentions, so that when you die, the distribution of these assets can be transferred according to your wishes. This is an adulthood milestone and we do not expect you to do it alone.
Estate planning involves the following:
- The drafting of a legally binding last will and testament
- Forming a trust to manage your assets for the benefit of your beneficiaries
- Asset restructuring
- Succession planning that ensures that the business can continue to operate when you’re no longer there to run it
The process of estate planning usually starts with the drafting of a will. A will is not just for rich and old people, it is for anyone with kids, money, property and investments. If you die without leaving a valid will, your estate will devolve in terms of the rules of intestate succession as stipulated in the Intestate Succession Act 81 of 1987. We can help you to draft a last will and testament which meets all the legal requirements.
A legally valid and up-to-date last will and testament ensures that your family’s financial future and inheritance are protected and protects your family against debt and liabilities from your business. Your will should be updated on a regular basis to accommodate family and financial changes.
ESTATE ADMINISTRATION
A deceased estate comes into existence when a person dies leaving property or a will (or document which purports to be a will). The estate must be reported to the Master within 14 days of the date of death.
If the deceased estate is less than R250 000.00 the Master will appoint a representative to wind up the estate without following the full process in terms of the Administration of Estates Act 66 of 1965 (the “Act”). However where the estate is over R250 000.00, the Master will appoint an executor to wind up the estate and the full process in terms of the Act must be followed. An executor can be nominated in terms of a will or nominated by the deceased’s beneficiaries if the deceased did not leave a (valid) will – if the deceased dies intestate.
Our team renders services to any person who has nominated MMI as executor in terms of their will or where the deceased dies intestate. MMI also acts as agent where a non-professional has been appointed as executor in terms of a will.