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Blog
18
Aug

The Surviving Spouse’s Guide to the First Year After a Death

August 18, 2026,
Losing a spouse is one of the most disorienting experiences a person can go through. In the days and weeks that follow, most surviving spouses describe the same thing. A fog that makes even simple decisions feel impossible, while the world around them expects answers, signatures, and action. This guide is not a legal textbook....
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13
Aug

Why Your Primary Residence Should Usually Stay Out of Your Trust

August 13, 2026,
One of the most common conversations in South African estate planning goes something like this. A client decides to set up an inter vivos trust, lists all the assets they want to transfer into it, and includes the family home almost as an afterthought. It is their most valuable asset. Surely it belongs in the...
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11
Aug

Cross-Border Estates: Administration Localised, Tax Worldwide

August 11, 2026,
By Neville Bredenkamp van der Spuy, Attorney, Executor Law (J Bredenkamp Incorporated) Cross-border estates are becoming increasingly common among South African families, and one of the most persistent misconceptions Neville encounters is that a South African will limited to local assets also limits South African tax exposure, when in fact it does not. Succession and...
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06
Aug

What Is a Trust Deed and What Should It Contain?

August 6, 2026,
When most South Africans think about setting up a trust, the conversation quickly turns to tax savings, asset protection, and estate duty planning. What receives far less attention, and deserves far more, is the document that makes the trust legally possible in the first place: the trust deed. A trust deed is not a formality....
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04
Aug

Are You Personally Liable for Your Trust’s Tax Debt?

August 4, 2026,
If you are a trustee of an inter vivos trust in South Africa, this question matters more than most people realise. Trustees regularly sign tax returns, manage trust income, and make distributions to beneficiaries, often without understanding the personal legal exposure that comes with those actions. The short answer is yes: in certain circumstances a...
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23
Jul

What Happens to Your Online Accounts When You Die?

July 23, 2026
Most South Africans have spent years building a digital life. Online accounts such as banking profiles, cryptocurrency wallets, investment platforms, social media accounts, e-commerce stores, and loyalty programmes. Very few have considered what happens to any of it when they die, and almost none have made provision for it in their wills. The result is...
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16
Jul

What Is a Rates Clearance Certificate and Why Does It Matter?

July 16, 2026,
If you are selling a property in South Africa, you will at some point hear your conveyancer mention a rates clearance certificate. For many sellers and even some buyers, it is one of those terms that gets nodded along to without a full understanding of what it actually is, why it is required, or what...
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15
Jul

The Coalface of Deceased Estate Administration

July 15, 2026,
By Neville Bredenkamp van der Spuy, Attorney, Executor Law (J Bredenkamp Incorporated) Estate planning receives enormous attention, with seminars held on tax efficiency, families debating trusts with experts, and financial planners discussing investment structures. Lawyers, like Neville, draft wills and related testamentary documentation, but then someone dies and suddenly a serious amount of work begins,...
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14
Jul

Joint Ownership vs Sole Ownership of Property in South Africa: What Happens When One Owner Dies?

July 14, 2026,
Property is often the most valuable asset in a South African estate. It is also one of the most complicated to deal with when the owner, or one of the owners, dies. The way a property is owned at the time of death determines everything: who has a claim to it, how quickly it can...
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09
Jul

What Truly Happens When a Deceased Estate Has More Liabilities Than Assets in South Africa?

July 9, 2026,
Discovering that a loved one’s deceased estate has more debt than assets is a deeply unsettling experience. It raises an immediate and frightening question: does the family have to pay? And if not, what actually happens to the estate, and to the creditors who are owed money? South African law is clear on this point,...
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