How to Keep Your Will

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    The Complete Guide to making your Will

    Why make a Will?

    Making a Will is planning for the future, and ensuring thatyour family and loved ones will be cared for when you areno longer there to protect them yourself.

    It is not a morbid or depressing task - on the contrary,knowing your possessions will be divided up according toyour wishes, that your affairs will be handled by someoneyou know and trust, and that your children will have aloving guardian if anything were to happen to you and

    your spouse, brings great peace of mind.

    Many married people think there is no need to make aWill, because when they die everything they own willautomatically go to their partner. This isnt necessarily thecase. There have been examples of family homes havingto be sold to pay off long lost relatives who are legallyentitled to a share.

    Others think they have nothing to leave - but if you wereto take into account the value of your home, furniture andpersonal effects, your car, bank accounts and insurancepolicies, the total could be surprisingly high.

    Even if you have no family of your own, making a Will isstill important, because if you die without one, everythingyou leave behind could go to the State. Surely its better

    to surprise a friend or help a charity which will rememberyou with affection for ever after, than for your money toend up in the Receivers pocket!

    What happens if you dont make a Will?

    Your estate will be divided in strict accordance withthe inflexible laws of intestacy, which may not be in thebest interests of your family.

    You will have no say in how precious possessions aredistributed, or who should benefit.

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    Your family will be subjected to additional worry atan already stressful and sad time, as they try to decidewhat you would have wanted. Your affairs can take years to sort out. A search for

    the non-existent Will first has to be made before intestacyis accepted. Then all living relatives have to be traced. Inthe meantime, no-one receives any money which cancause great hardship to those you leave behind. Only blood relatives and married partners caninherit. If you have a close friend or a favourite charity,they will not receive a cent unless you have madeprovision for them in a valid Will. If you are separated, but not divorced, your former

    partner could receive almost all your money and property.

    Another good reason for making a Will is that it gives youa chance to make other kinds of decisions. Would youprefer your bodily remains to be cremated or buried? Doyou want to donate your organs to help someone else?To whom would you prefer to entrust the task of sortingout your affairs (the executor/s)? Who will take care of

    your children if both you and your partner die(guardian/s)? And what about your pets? Will someonetake them in, or will you need to make provision for themin your Will?

    How to make your Will

    Legally, you are allowed to write your own Will, but it isfar better to have such an important document drawn up

    by a suitably qualified person such as an attorney,auditor, your banker or a trust company to ensure it iscorrectly worded and witnessed. Banks and trustcompanies usually charge a small fee for drawing up aWill, provided they are named as executors.

    Before you make the appointment to have your Will drawnup, theres a certain amount of preparation to be done.You will need details of the value of your estate, names

    and addresses of the executors you have chosen (asktheir permission first!) and the people to whom you wish

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    to leave gifts (bequests), including charitableorganisations.

    Use the form below to calculate the value of your estate:

    Assets

    Home ROther property RHousehold contents RFurniture/Antiques RJewellery RCar/caravan R

    Savings and cash RStocks and shares ROther investments RPension benefits RLife Assurance R

    Total Assets R

    Liabilities

    Mortgage RBank loans RHire purchase RBank overdraft RCredit Cards RTax owed R

    Total Liabilities R

    Value of Estate R

    What is a Bequest?

    A bequest or legacy is simply a gift in your Will amemento or sum of money you want to leave to someone,your Church, or a charity you have loyally supported.

    Broadly speaking, there are two main types of bequests:

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    a specific amount of money, including the proceedsof a life assurance policy, or a particular piece of property,and, the residue whatever remains of your estate once

    all the funeral expenses, estate duty and specific bequestshave been paid. You can bequeath the entire residue to asingle beneficiary, or apportion it among several.The advantage of the latter is that the bequestautomatically keeps pace with inflation and any changesin your circumstances.

    If you have decided to include the South African NationalCouncil for the Blind among your beneficiaries, your

    attorney may find the wording below helpful:

    SPECIFIC BEQUESTI bequeath to the SOUTH AFRICAN NATIONAL COUNCILFOR THE BLIND, 514 White Street, Baileys Muckleneuk,Pretoria free of all tax the sum of R..... (or the specificitem/s as the case may be) and I further direct that thereceipt of their Treasurer or other proper officer shall be a

    full and sufficient discharge.

    RESIDUAL BEQUESTSubject to the payment of my debts, funeral andtestamentary expenses, I give ...... (insert the word allor a percentage share) the residue of my estate nototherwise disposed of by this, my Will, to the SOUTHAFRICAN NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR THE BLIND, 514 WhiteStreet, Baileys Muckleneuk, Pretoria and I further direct

    that the receipt of their Treasurer or other proper officershall be a full and sufficient discharge.

    Choosing an executor

    Your executor ensures the instructions in your Will arecarried out, and may also be a beneficiary of the Will.Obviously you must ask the person first to make suretheyre willing, and its usual to name a second executor

    in case anything happens to the first.A husband usually appoints his wife, and a wife her

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    husband. Its sensible to name someone younger agrown-up son or daughter for example, as a secondexecutor. Asking a professional to act as one of theexecutors will take the burden away from your family, but

    you will have to pay for their services from the residue ofyour estate.

    Your witnessesYou need two people over the age of 18 and of soundmind to witness your Will and neither they, nor theirmarriage partners may benefit from the Will. You and thetwo witnesses must all sign the Will together, in eachothers presence.

    Your beneficiariesBeneficiaries are the people you have named to receivegifts. Be sure to clearly identify them with a full name, IDnumber, occupation and full address, which makes themeasier to locate and identify.

    If one or more of your beneficiaries predeceases you, the

    money or item you left that person is added to the residueof your estate, and dealt with in the manner youve willed.However, if any of your children to whom you have left alegacy die before you, then their children willautomatically inherit in equal shares.

    What about arrangements for my funeral?

    You can express a preference in your Will for burial or

    cremation and include specific instructions such as, Idirect that my ashes are scattered at sea.

    These days many people feel that in death they would liketo provide life for others and so agree to donate organsand tissue to be used to save lives. Others donate theirbodies to be used for the advancement of medicine. If youwant to donate part or all of your body for medical orscientific purposes, you should include a paragraph to this

    effect in your Will.

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    Where to keep your Will

    Theres no point in writing a Will if it cannot be found. Youwill probably wish to keep the original Will with your

    attorney or at your bank, but you should also have a copyat home so that you can remind yourself of its contentsfrom time to time and decide whether you need to makeany changes.

    Its also advisable to give your executor/s a copy of theWill, or at least make sure that he/she/they are aware ofthe contents. If you make copies of your Will, write copyon each of the copies, but do not write original on the

    original.

    How often should you update your Will?

    You will need to change your Will if you move to anothercountry, get married or divorced, sell assets mentioned inthe Will, or if one or more of your heirs or executors die.

    If your estate is now worth more (perhaps you havereceived an inheritance, or the value of your house hasincreased), you may become liable for estate duty. Bymaking certain changes to your Will, you may be able toreduce the amount you have to pay.If the changes are substantial, you may wish to make anew Will. But in many cases, all that is required is asimple codicil. Your attorney, auditor or financial advisorcan help you with this, or, if it is fairly straightforward,

    you may prefer to take care of it yourself.

    How to make a codicil

    You can make as many codicils as you like, but if thereare several changes it may be better to make a new Will.

    Each codicil must be signed by two witnesses in the sameway as your Will, although they do not have to be the

    same people who witnessed your Will. Neither they, northeir marriage partners, may be beneficiaries of your Will

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    or the codicil.

    Never pin, staple or clip a codicil to your Will. Simply placeit in an envelope with your Will and mark the outside

    clearly. Remember to tell the executor of your Will thatyou have added a codicil, and where it is kept.

    How making a bequest can reduce estate duty

    If the total value of your assets at the time of your deathamounts to over R3,5 million, then you will become liablefor the payment of estate duty at the rate of 20%*.However, all gifts made to charities in your Will are free of

    tax. In practice, that means if you make a gift to theSouth African National Council for the Blind in your Will,the value of that gift is deducted from your estate beforethe amount of estate duty is calculated. If your giftreduces the value of everything you have left toR3 500 000 or less, then no estate duty will be payable atall.e.g.: Value of estate R1 600 000

    Rebate R1 500 000Bequest to National Council R1 100 000Taxable amount nilTax payable nilBalance for distribution R1 500 000

    * Valid as at 2009.

    How would the South African National Council for

    the Blind use a bequest from me?

    By naming the South African National Council for the Blindin your Will, you could be giving a young blind person thechance to lead a useful and independent life.

    You could help a newly blinded person master the skills ofthe long white cane; you could provide training forworthwhile jobs as computer operators or telephonists;

    you could provide assistive devices for blind or partiallysighted people. Or you could restore the eyesight of

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    someone blinded by cataracts.

    All these precious gifts would cost you nothing during yourlifetime. But when you no longer need it, your money will

    be put to good use to help those who are less fortunate.And youll have the pleasure of knowing that yourkindness will be remembered for years, perhaps evengenerations to come, by blind and partially sightedpeople.

    As a supporter of the South African National Council forthe Blind, you are already playing a part in helping usprovide the training, encouragement and financial support

    needed by the blind community ... as well as essential eyecare education and blindness prevention programmes.

    A gift in your Will can make our partnership last morethan a lifetime, and is a lasting memorial to yourgenerosity.

    If you are kind enough to include the South African

    National Council for the Blind in your Will, may we ask youto return the enclosed form? Theres no obligation, and ofcourse you may change your mind at a later date, but itwill help us with our plans for the future.

    Vital personal information

    Full Name

    AddressTelephoneBusiness AddressTelephone

    Date of BirthPlace of BirthIdentity NumberDate of Issue

    Place of IssueTax Registration Number

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    Location of Birth CertificateLocation of Marriage/Divorce Certificate

    Attorney

    TelephoneDoctorTelephoneMedical AidMembership NumberTelephoneAccountantTelephoneName of Executor

    AddressTelephoneName of ExecutorAddressTelephone

    Persons to notify in case of emergency

    NameAddressTelephoneNameAddressTelephoneNameAddressTelephone

    Banking DetailsBankAccount NumberType of AccountBankAccount NumberType of AccountBank

    Account NumberType of Account

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    Life AssuranceCompanyPolicy Number

    CompanyPolicy Number

    The information contained in this booklet should not beused as a substitute for proper legal advice. You areadvised to consult an attorney, auditor or other qualifiedprofessional before drawing up your Will.

    For further information about leaving a bequest to the S A

    National Council for the Blind, please contact:Tel. (012) 3461171or write toPO Box 11149Hatfield 0028