You might be young, dumb and full of happiness, but as it stands only half of South Africans can actually afford to die.

How so? As soon as you pass away, people have little time to mourn before your will comes to the forefront. Grim? Just wait for it.

Signing a will is essentially a contract you enter into with the person who will deal with all of your assets (and liabilities) when you die.

If either non-existent, unsigned or incorrectly signed, you can bet your panties there will be problems, reports Business Tech:

If you do not have a valid will, your estate will be distributed in accordance with the Intestate Succession Act, 81 of 1987, which will probably not reflect your wishes and/or may not necessarily be in the best interests of your beneficiaries.

Here are just a number of dangers that not having a valid will include:

• The inheritance of minor children will have to be paid into the Guardian’s Fund. If a valid will had been in place, provision could have been made for the setting up of a testamentary trust for the benefit of minor beneficiaries.
• The Master of the High Court will have to appoint an Executor, and this could delay the winding-up process.
• Certain family members, such as parents and siblings, whom you might have wished to inherit a portion of your estate will be excluded as the entire estate will pass to the surviving spouse and/or the children – or lacking them, to specific heirs as indicated in the Intestate Succession Act.
• If there are no living family members, the entire estate may be forfeited to the state after 30 years, after being advertised in the Government Gazette annually for that period of time. The law of intestate succession does not regard common law or life partners as spouses.

And that’s just not cool.

But once that’s covered, it’s a good idea to ensure that you don’t have any outstanding debts, as those are the first costs your will covers once you keel over.

Oh, and the taxman doesn’t give two ticks if you’re dead, either.

Then, once you’ve passed, there are few people your loved ones need to call.

First up is the bank, as all your accounts need to be frozen at once. Then the employer might be a good idea, not only to inform them that they won’t be coming to work any longer, but to see if there are any pension and/or Group Life benefits.

Following that, it’s time to call in the nominated executor of the deceased. They are the person who will begin the administration process, and are generally appointed if your estate if the gross value exceeds R250 000.

Too much? Yeah dude, and here you thought living was expensive.

But that’s why people who know this kind of stuff back to front exist in the world.

We have the people over at Consequence, who are professionals when it comes to sorting out wills, trusts and a host of other financial service.

Although you might have a will, it’s a good idea to have it looked over as legislation amendments occur often, and a precise and up to date will assists an executor in winding up an estate in a satisfactory and speedy manner.

Consequence can review existing trusts, and establish and manage local and offshore trusts, without you having to stress.

Too easy? Why not. Get in touch with them here.

Okay, let’s move onto happier things, shall we?

[source:businesstech]