Where a person dies without making a Will, that person is said to die “intestate”. The distribution of his/her Estate is governed by the Succession Act, 1965.

During my time in general practice, I came across many intestate Estates. A lot of these were regrettably complicated Estates, leaving the family very confused and often angry that such a mess was left. If you have any assets such as property, a farm, a business, etc. you need to make a Will.

If you don’t have a Will, one of the situations below might apply to you. Please contact me today if this is not how you want your assets to be distributed.

• Married with no children – spouse takes all.
• Married with children – spouse takes two-thirds; children take one-third equally.
• Widow with children – children take all equally.
• Single (never married) and no children – parents take all equally, or if parents are deceased, siblings take all equally (together with the children of a pre-deceased sibling if applicable).

Don’t keep putting off making your Will. It is a very simple, painless process and once it’s done, it’s one less thing to worry about. You can relax with the knowledge that you are deciding what happens to your assets after your day.