• The MyLnD™ Programme

A liquidation and distribution account (L&D) is a written account of the process of collecting and realising the deceased’s assets, the discharge of debts, costs and taxes, and the handing over of what is left to the heirs.

On average, the administration of a deceased estate takes six to 13 months to finalise, before the heirs see the first cent of their inheritance.  In large or complex matters, winding up the estate may be delayed by several years. As the only person with the full knowledge to shed light on such cases is no longer present, successful transfer of wealthto the next generation fails.

To overcome this stalemate situation, we offer the MyLnD™ Programme, which pre-empts the process of administering your future deceased estate and the transfer of your wealth to your heirs, while you are still alive. In this manner, the planning process and the administration process become a unified planning event, pro-actively preparing for the eventuality of death.

• Drafting of Wills

We provide Will drafting services to ensure that your intentions and wishes are properly recorded for the protection of both your estate and beneficiaries. 

We will also advise whether you require one worldwide Will or whether a foreign Will is best suited to deal with assets in a particular jurisdiction. This depends on several factors; how many jurisdictions your assets are situated across, the laws of those jurisdiction(s) and the size and nature of your assets in a particular foreign jurisdiction. 

Leaving behind a clear and valid Will is a final kindness to your loved ones, by simplifying the division and winding up of your deceased estate while they grieve. 

• Estate administration

Your nominated executor needs to ensure that your estate is distributed as per the wishes in your Will. This might sound simple, but it includes closing accounts, selling and or transferring of assets, tax compliance, payments, correspondence with various parties like family members, creditors, the Master of the High Court, SARS, etc.

We have professionally qualified persons who will ensure that your estate is administered in terms of the law and in a timely manner.

View the Estate Management Process

• Life Cover

Life and disability cover fill the gap between what a person has at a certain stage in life and what would be required to ensure that the person or the person’s family is financially well looked after.

Life cover also plays a role in funding buy-and-sell obligations on death, as it provides liquidity for debt repayment on death (including debt for which the deceased stood surety) and lastly, it provides for liquidity in an estate to cover costs or estate duty.

The proceeds of life cover are included for estate duty purposes in the estate of the person whose life was insured unless certain exclusions apply.

• Pension, Provident and Annuity Policies

Governments around the world understand the value of having the older generation in their community being able to look after themselves after their working lives. To enable saving for life after work, most countries provide tax benefits on 1) premiums paid into funds earmarked for consumption after retirement, 2) the gains and income earned within those funds and 3) portions of the proceeds received by the beneficiary on retirement.

From an estate planning point of view, there is nothing that needs to be done on defined benefit policies other than being cognisant of the existence of such a policy. There is no beneficiary nomination, no lump-sum payment and no estate duty or income tax consequence for the estate or for the deceased person.

A defined contribution fund, however, is a fund that is simply the accumulation of contributions made during the policy holder’s life, and the aggregate contributions and the growth thereon is paid to the policy holders through a lump sum on retirement, as well as annuity income until the fund is depleted. As there is potentially an amount left on death, the policy holder needs to appoint a beneficiary to receive the residual benefits. Those benefits can also be taken as an annuity and then this new beneficiary, in turn, needs to appoint another beneficiary until all the funds have been depleted either through lump-sum payments or annuity payments.

Any lump sum taken from these policies after the death of a policy owner or subsequent beneficiary is taxed in the last income tax return of the deceased person. There is no death duty consequence to either the lump sum or the annuity. It is not a deemed asset for estate duty purposes.

The annuity is taxed as income in the hands of the annuitant as and when the annuities are received. The fund itself usually retains the tax-free benefit of the funds that are retained.

The only relevance to a pension or annuity fund from an estate planning point of view is that the advisor needs to ensure that the beneficiary nominations, where required, are indeed in place and that the benefit of the fund is taken into consideration when calculating the relative value each heir will receive in the end.