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Estates, Wills and Trusts
The responsibilities of an Executor are fiduciary in nature and thus the Executor must at all times be honest, diligent, truthful as well as to see that the process is endowed with fairness and compliance. In the event that the Executor conducts themselves in a way that is detrimental to the proper administration of the deceased estate, there are provisions for the removal of such Executor.
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A Will is designed to capture the wishes of the deceased with regards to how they prefer their estate to devolve to the nominated heirs. Such Will contains instructions as to how assets must be distributed to the heirs under that estate and in some instances, who must preside over such process (Executor).
In terms of the Trust Property Control Act 57 of 1988 (the Act) the definition of a Trust can be paraphrased as, a design whereby a person’s ownership interest in assets is, by way of a trust instrument, put under the care, control and trust of other persons referred to as Trustees and/or beneficiaries, for the benefit of nominated beneficiaries.
The essence behind a Trust is the transfer of ownership of property from the Trust Founder to the Trust, while putting its control under the Trustees, for the advantage of the beneficiaries. The duties and responsibilities of the Trustees are fiduciary in nature and as such they must perform them with good faith, honesty, diligence, skill and uphold the best interests of the Trust and its beneficiaries.
The assumption of a position or office comes with specific responsibilities and duties. The anticipation is that the bearer will perform the duties as required and expected, within set confines. These parameters are what define roles so as to achieve coordinated and oriented outcomes.
The issuing of the Letter of Authority as Trustee by the Master of the High Court signals the assumption of office as Trustee to the designated party. It is at this point that the responsibilities, authority and duties as a Trustee begin to be binding and effective.
We often get inquiries from some of our clients with regards to how the process of transferring the interest of a deceased relative who, was a member of a Close Corporation (CC). We value such inquiries in that it is indicative of the appreciation that our valued clients have for the law, and at the same time giving us an opportunity to provide expert legal assistance.
It must be noted that it is not enough to remove an Executor merely because of disagreements between the Executor and other interested parties, but a high standard of undesirability or wrongdoing on the part of the Executor need to be satisfied first.
It happens most often that some properties are transferred and sold from a deceased estate, with the purchaser having to transact with the heir or the executor of the deceased estate. In other instances, there is no sale involved, but that the property must be transferred from the deceased estate to the heir who is entitled to inherit such property.
The primary purpose of having a valid will is so that the testator can have the benefit of prescribing the division of his assets to only the beneficiaries he/she desires. In this way, having the assets of the deceased in the wrong hands after his/her death is avoided.
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