Foreign Assets, South African Estate

01 April 2022 ,  André Styger 719

A world divided by distance and time is a phenomenon of the past. As such, the possibilities available to estate planners are vast regarding the acquisition of property and wealth internationally. Estate planning is a powerful tool to construct a client’s wishes in such a manner that his/her estate devolves in a manner that is most beneficial to that which the client has chosen. However successful this is, international property and wealth are making it increasingly difficult for advisors in the administration of a deceased estate to provide advice that is consistent and clear.

Your South African will should govern your world-wide assets. However, there are complications, and these include the following:

  1. The role of the Executor is to take control of the assets, and administer them according to what succession dictates, be that by means of a will or the Intestate Succession Act. However, the Executor will not be able to take control of assets in a country where he/she has no such jurisdiction to act. Therefore, an agent will have to be appointed by the Executor to deal with said assets.
  2. Secondly, one needs to consider that a South African will is not enforceable against another country wherein the laws of testation and validity of a will differ.
  3. Finally, the freedom of testation is providing difficulty. In South Africa, there exists no right to inherit, however, in some European countries an automatic right to inherit does in fact exist.

A concurrent will/foreign will could aid in addressing the above-mentioned challenges. It would be advisable to have an advisor of that specific country assist you in drafting your will, and ensuring that all your ‘foreign’ assets are dealt with accordingly. This can result in your South African estate and your international estate being administered at the same time, and in the process saving time and costs.

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