Estate Planning in Gauteng

A will says who receives what. An estate plan makes sure that instruction can actually be carried out — that there is cash to settle duty and fees, that your beneficiary nominations don’t contradict the will, that assets are held in a sensible structure, and that your family is not forced to sell something to pay a bill. The will is one document inside the plan.

Estate duty is charged at 20% on the dutiable value of your estate above the R3.5 million abatement, and at 25% on any portion above R30 million. Assets left to a surviving spouse are exempt under section 4(q), and any unused abatement transfers to that spouse — so a couple can effectively shelter up to R7 million on the second death. These thresholds are reviewed annually, so we confirm the current figures at the time of advice.

The prescribed maximum is 3.5% of the gross value of the estate, plus VAT, and it is calculated on what you owned — not on what remains after debt. On a R5 million estate that is roughly R175 000 before VAT. The tariff is negotiable, and it is far easier to agree a reduced fee while you are alive than for your family to try afterwards.

Generally no — retirement annuity proceeds fall outside your estate for estate duty purposes, and they are not distributed according to your will. Instead, section 37C of the Pension Funds Act requires the fund’s trustees to identify your financial dependants and allocate the benefit accordingly. Your beneficiary nomination form is important evidence of your wishes, but the trustees make the final decision. Keeping that form current is one of the simplest and most valuable things you can do.

No. The tax deduction on contributions applies at any age, and the growth inside the fund is free of income tax, dividends tax and capital gains tax regardless of when you start. A shorter runway changes the strategy — contribution level, fund choice and how the money will eventually be drawn all need more careful work — but starting later is materially better than not starting.

You may deduct contributions of up to 27.5% of the greater of your remuneration or taxable income, subject to an annual cap of R350 000. Contributions above that limit are not lost — they roll forward and can be deducted in future tax years, or set off against a retirement lump sum later. For most people the practical question is not the cap but whether their current contribution is using the allowance efficiently.

Your estate is distributed under the Intestate Succession Act, which applies a fixed formula between your spouse and children regardless of your intentions. The Master of the High Court appoints the executor, which may not be who you would have chosen, and the process is typically slower and more expensive. Blended families, business interests and unmarried partners are where intestate succession causes the most harm.

Sometimes — and often less than people assume. A trust earns its place where you have minor children, a beneficiary who cannot manage money, a business that must survive you, or assets you genuinely want held across generations. It carries ongoing administration, its own tax treatment and real cost. We would rather tell you a trust is unnecessary than set one up you will resent maintaining.

We are part of Old Mutual Personal Financial Advice and predominantly recommend Old Mutual solutions, which gives us deep product knowledge and strong service support. The advice itself is always built around your circumstances and tax position — you will never be placed in a product that does not suit you.

Yes. Our office is in the Old Mutual Building on the corner of Frikkie Meyer Boulevard and Barrage Road in Vanderbijlpark, and we regularly travel to clients across Gauteng — Johannesburg, Pretoria, the East Rand and the West Rand. Where a video call is simpler for you, we are happy to work that way.

Nothing. The first consultation is complimentary and carries no obligation. It exists so we can understand your position and so you can decide whether we are the right fit. Any product or advice-related costs are explained clearly and agreed upfront before anything proceeds.

The planning itself is usually two to three meetings over a few weeks — one to understand your position and gather documents, one to work through options, and one to sign off. Drafting or amending a will adds a little time, and anything involving a trust or a business structure takes longer. What takes far longer is the opposite: winding up a deceased estate with no plan in place routinely runs past a year.

Yes, as often as you like, provided you have testamentary capacity. The safest route is a new will that revokes the previous one, correctly signed and witnessed under the Wills Act. Handwritten amendments on an existing will are a common cause of disputes and can invalidate the document. Marriage, divorce, a new child, a property purchase or a business sale should all trigger a review.

In most cases yes — two individual wills, drafted together so they work as a pair. A joint or mutual will can create real difficulties for the survivor, sometimes binding them to terms they cannot change afterwards. Your matrimonial property regime matters here too: in community of property, out of community, and out of community with accrual each produce a different outcome, and the will has to be drafted with that in mind.

At least every two years, and immediately after any significant change — marriage, divorce, a birth, a death in the family, emigration, a property transaction, a business sale, or a material change in the value of your assets. Tax thresholds also move annually, so a plan built around a threshold from several years ago may no longer do what you assumed it did.

Retirement annuity proceeds generally fall outside your dutiable estate, which is one of the reasons an RA is a useful estate planning tool as well as a retirement one. The exception worth knowing about is contributions that were never allowed as a tax deduction — those can be brought back into the estate for duty purposes. It is also worth remembering that “outside your estate” does not mean “controlled by your will”: section 37C still applies, and the fund trustees decide the allocation.