National Wills Week: Trust the professionals with your will and testament
With the upcoming National Wills Week from 16 to 20 September in mind, Review spoke to Gert Ehlers from DDKK about the importance of using a professional service when drafting a will.
POLOKWANE –Â According to the South African Concise Oxford Dictionary, a will is a legal document containing instructions for the disposal of one’s money and property after one’s death.
With the upcoming National Wills Week from 16 to 20 September in mind, Review spoke to Gert Ehlers from DDKK about the importance of using a professional service when drafting a will.
“It is recommended that a lawyer or other competent professional draft your will and do estate planning, as the terms of a will can have far-reaching consequences. A lawyer or other competent professional is usually better equipped to ensure that all applicable laws, rules and regulations are kept in mind to ensure you are not only sitting with a valid will, but that the estate planning is done so that your heirs can benefit and not the taxman,” explains Ehlers.
Read more: This is why you should have a will
He added that if you want to save money you can draw up your own will. The benefits to this are that it is cheaper, however, the disadvantage of self-drafting a will is that not everyone is experienced and has the necessary legal knowledge to ensure that the requirements of the law are met and that the drafted will is valid.
“Anyone can make a will, however, the best wills are usually drafted by professionals with experience in estate planning and especially the administration of estates. There are financial planners who can draft excellent wills, but the public should be careful and ensure that the author is competent. The consequences of an invalid will or a will that does not ensure that estate planning is done properly can be far-reaching.”
In some cases, you might want to alter your will and according to Ehlers, the simplest way is to draft a new and updated will that will replace the previous will.
During National Wills Week, readers can get a basic will drafted for free at participating legal firms in the city. For participating firms get next week’s copy of Review.
