The CEO of FNB Fiduciary, Aneesa Razack, says: "A Will is a detailed plan of how you will leave your accumulated assets and belongings, big or small, to your loved ones once you pass on. As life progresses, people’s needs evolve and, as such, we need to ensure that their wishes are well represented in a Will. Whether big changes like purchasing a house or getting married or making any type of investment – you need to consider these when doing and updating your Will."

The reason a Will is seen as such an important document is that it is the only legal document that has a standing of what should be done with one’s assets, big or small, when they are no longer alive. “A Will entails who will inherit your assets, what should be done with your assets – if there is no Will in place, the deceased loses an opportunity to say what must be done with what has been left behind,” adds Strydom. He explains that it seems South Africans are not aware of the negative implications of not having a valid Will. This is according to the number of cases that are at the High Court of people who has passed away without having Wills. “There is around 70% to 80% of people who have passed away without having Wills.”

The National Wills Week, which is from 12 to 16 September, was established with the sole purpose of making people aware of the importance of having a valid Will. He believes South Africans are still reluctant to take time from their schedules to draw up valid Wills despite a lot that has been done throughout the years in raising awareness around the issue. The legal formalities in terms of a valid Will are prescribed in terms of legislation. Anybody over the age of 16 can have their own Will, where it states what should be done with assets owned. Whoever drafts the Will must sign on each page – in front of two imperial witnesses - witnesses that won’t be inheriting, nor who are family. “The Will will need to be dated, stating your intentions and your signature,” explains Strydom. He further explains that in terms of Wills Week, there are people who are offering to draft Wills for consumers, however, as far as the legal formalities are concerned, he believes anyone can draft their own Will – even though it is something that he would not advise.

When it comes to the details in the Will, he says they always advise clients that the details must be very clear. For families that have people with the same names, it is advisable to state your relationship with the person who will be inheriting, if possible, also give out their identification number to avoid confusion. There is no certain age they would advise a person to draft a Will – as soon as one starts accumulating assets, then they believe it is time to draft a Will. Some people wait for when they start being responsible for a child or having a spouse, Strydom explains that this should not be the case all the time.

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