In the Personal Finance section of the Independent on Saturday, 17 September 2025, the leading article was headed Wills explained: common mistakes and essential tips. Although there are a couple of blogs on wills on this site, the article by Nicola Mawson had some interesting and necessary update considerations.
The first interesting fact was that wills are still governed by the Act of 1953 which starts with: “Be it enacted by the Queen’s most excellent Majesty, the Senate and House of Assembly of the Union of South Africa …”. There does not seem to have been a reason to change this Act but one thing that it does not include is information on digital wills. The article says that it is possible that a precedent may be set for video wills.
When drawing up your will, it is strongly recommended that you speak with an expert. I remember my mother saying that one could write their will on a serviette in a restaurant but that is no longer an option. Faeeza Khan of Liberty pointed out that one of the biggest mistakes made is people not signing their will. She added that a will must be in writing, typed or handwritten, and witnessed by 2 persons NOT under the age of 14 NOR beneficiaries of the will.
It is also of interest that spacing between the end if the will and the testator’s signature is extremely important. There was a case where the will was declared invalid because the testator’s signature was 17cm below the end of the will itself.
It is now required that each page of a will is numbered to prevent the insertion of pages after the will has been signed. Another requirement is that each page must bear the full signatures of the testator and both witnesses.
Then there are the more modern considerations such as Cryptocurrency wallets, domain names, online businesses or royalties from creative works need to be specifically catered to, through proper and detailed instructions in the will. Social media accounts should be left in the hands of someone you can trust to be either deleted or retained for memorial purposes.
What cannot be handed down are your debts. These must be paid first before any receives their inheritance but if there are insufficient funds in the Estate, it is declared insolvent. The heirs do NOT inherit the debt.
Children under 18 cannot inherit directly. The ideal is to request in the will that a testamentary trust be set up for the minor children. If this is not done, their portion will be controlled by the state through a state fund until they are adults.
NB 1. Insurance policies and retirement annuities are not part of the Estate and, it is important, to regularly check them to ensure that the beneficiaries are correct. The monies are paid directly to the beneficiaries. It has been known for beneficiaries to have died before the person with these policies.
2. Make a detailed list of all your assets and store with your will so that the Executor will have them from the start.