Seven myths about making a will

“Let’s choose executors and talk of wills” (Shakespeare)

If you haven’t made your will yet, get it done now. Why is that so important and how should you go about it?

To answer that let’s debunk a few of the more pervasive myths and misconceptions around those questions –

1. “I’m too young to need a will”

Of course the older you get, the greater your chance of dying from illness or disease. But conversely, the younger you are the higher your risk of sudden violent death. For example our road fatality stats (amongst the highest in the world) show that 80 percent of deaths are in the 19 to 34 year old age group. No matter your age and no matter your health status, you could die today. Or tomorrow. No one (least of all you) knows for sure.

And so to this related myth …

2. “I’m too busy right now, it can wait” 

The more frantically busy we are (and that’s most of us in today’s world) the more tempting it is to postpone this one. It’s a hassle, you have other priorities, and besides who wants to contemplate their own mortality? But of course “Death knocks at all doors”, often without warning. And the hassle you save yourself today is just more hassle for your grieving loved ones to have to deal with tomorrow.

3. “It’s OK to die without a will”

No it’s not. A will is the only way to ensure that your loved ones are looked after properly after you are gone. It’s the only way to control how your estate is divided and who divides it for you.

Without a will you die “intestate” and the law – not you – determines who gets what. You could be inadvertently condemning your spouse to a life of trying to survive on only a “child’s share” of your estate. You have no say in who will be appointed executor of your estate, or guardian of your children, or trustee of their trust if they are under age or unable to manage their own affairs. Your childrens’ inheritances will sit in the Guardians Fund until they turn 18. If you aren’t formally married but have a life partner, he or she may end up in a bitter dispute with your family over rights of inheritance. There are no advantages to dying intestate, only disadvantages – big ones.

4. “I’m single and have no assets, so a will is pointless” 

Firstly, you will have some assets – a bank account perhaps, or a car, or monies in your employer’s pension fund, or perhaps your estate will have a claim on the Road Accident Fund. Even if you have no spouse/life partner/children to worry about, you will still leave loved ones behind – parents perhaps, or siblings. Whatever the case, someone close to you will have to be involved in winding up your estate and you should leave a will to make the process less stressful for them. 

5. “My spouse already holds my Power of Attorney, that’s all he/she needs” 

Powers of attorney lapse on your death and from then on only your executor, after being formally appointed by the Master of the High Court, can deal with your estate. Any powers you may have given your heirs – for example to draw money to live on from your bank account, or to run your business, or to rent out your house – fall away when you die. 

6. “It’s easy to draw a will, I can do it myself”

There is no legal requirement for a professional to draw your will, but before you buy a template will or copy someone else’s, consider these common pitfalls –

1. • Your will must comply with legal formalities to be valid. If it doesn’t pass muster for any reason, your heirs will have to make an expensive application to the High Court to have it validated.

• • Unless the terms of your will are crystal clear, you could ignite a bitter family feud over what your wishes really were, and that’s the last thing your grieving loved ones need to be dealing with in their time of distress. Our law reports are filled with cases caused by imprecision, ambiguity and vagueness, and sometimes there is just no substitute for the legal terminology and the “Latin bits” – unless you fully understand them, don’t go there alone.

• • Your marital status, marital regime and ante-nuptial contract (if you have one) need to be taken into account when drawing your will, and there are grey areas here which are best left to a professional.

• • If you have foreign assets, you may need a foreign will as well as a local one, but there’s “no one-size fits all” answer – specialised advice is essential.

• • The structure of your will, and upfront estate/tax planning, will reduce unnecessary cost and delay – another issue beyond the average layperson.

• • A last point – not strictly part of the process of drawing the will but still vitally important – is to leave your heirs with ready access to funds whilst the estate is wound up. All your bank accounts and the like are automatically frozen on death so ensure your heirs have their own bank accounts, nominate them as beneficiaries of life policies etc. 

7. “I made a will years ago, that’ll do the job”

Bad idea. Life events (marriage, divorce, birth, death etc) and a whole host of other factors (like new laws and changes in your financial and business structures) all require review. So diarise to revisit your will regularly, at least once a year.

In closing, don’t confuse this sort of “will”, which only applies after you die, with a “Living Will” (or its close cousin an “Advance Directive”), both of which only apply before you die.

We’ll discuss whether you need a Living Will or Advance Directive in next month’s issue.

This article is a general information sheet and should not be used or relied on as legal or other professional advice. No liability can be accepted for any errors or omissions nor for any loss or damage arising from reliance upon any information herein. Always contact your legal adviser for specific and detailed advice. Errors and omissions excepted (E&OE)