State sets up trust to compensate victim after four year battle

Towards the end of last year, the Pretoria High Court granted judgment in favour of the plaintiff, Advocate JC van Eeden, who is the curator ad litem to 62 year old Prince Mokwalakwala (Prince). This welcome ruling came after four years of vigorous litigation by the…

Topics: Criminal Law | Personal Injury Law | Wills, Estates & Trusts

Budget 2018 tax highlights

The Minister of Finance, Malusi Gigaba, delivered South Africa’s 2018 Budget speech to Parliament on 21 February 2018. In his speech the Minister noted that there is an expected R48.2 billion revenue shortfall estimate in the 2017/2018 financial year. According…

Topics: Banking & Finance Law | Tax Law | Wills, Estates & Trusts

Budget 2018 – Key changes

The 2018 Budget was presented by Minister Malusi Gigaba before parliament on 21 February 2018. The 2018 tax proposals are projected to raise ZAR36 billion. The key changes announced are: An increase in the value-added tax rate from 14% to 15%. A below inflation increase…

Should you be charging interest on loans made to a trust?

When will s7C apply? Clients who have made, as well as those who are considering making, interest-free or low-interest loans to trusts must take note of a recent inclusion to the Income Tax Act (“the Act”). This inclusion comes in the form of Section 7C, which was…

Topics: Tax Law | Wills, Estates & Trusts

Death Rehearsal 101 – It’s never too early to get your affairs in order

My uncle, who just turned 95, recently invited me to his death rehearsal. Despite what may immediately come to mind, a death rehearsal is not a staged funeral with the soon to be deceased attending. In fact, it is a full run through of everything your loved ones will need…

Topics: Family Law | Wills, Estates & Trusts

Requirements for drafting a valid will in South Africa

Why do I need a will? When you kick the bucket, chances are that your estate won’t matter much to you, but do you want your life’s work to be distributed amongst unworthy heirs? Everything that remains of your assets after all debts and administrative costs have …

Topics: Wills, Estates & Trusts

Voluntary disclosure of undeclared foreign assets in offshore trusts

In the context of trusts situated in foreign participating jurisdictions, the Common Reporting Standards (“CRS”) require the trustees to identify the settlor, beneficiaries and other natural persons exercising ultimate effective control (including …

Topics: Banking & Finance Law | Tax Law | Wills, Estates & Trusts

The Special Voluntary Disclosure Programme: An update and some practicalities and predicaments

The Special Voluntary Disclosure Programme (“SVDP”) kicked off on 1 October 2016 and runs until the end of June 2017. The SVDP consists of an exchange control leg and a tax leg. INTRODUCTION At the time of writing this article, the proposed law underlying the tax…

Topics: Tax Law | Wills, Estates & Trusts

The South African taxation of trusts: Recent developments

The Davis Tax Committee’s (“DTC”) first interim report was released in July 2015 (the “First Report”) and made various significant recommendations to the Minister of Finance regarding (among other topics) the taxation of trusts in South Africa. Subsequent…

Topics: Tax Law | Wills, Estates & Trusts

Taxation of investment vehicles in real estate (REITS & controlled companies)

A traffic standstill is rarely the result of retail specials; however, on 28 April 2016 the greater Johannesburg area had a gridlock on major highways on the opening day of a new mall. Various real estate developments are expanding the larger metropolitan cities …

Topics: Banking & Finance Law | Property Law | Tax Law | Wills, Estates & Trusts

Proposed Changes To Interest-Free Loans To Trusts

The draft Taxation Laws Amendment Bill, 2016 (TLAB) was published on 8 July 2016 and contains an interesting proposed amendment to the tax laws governing the provision of an interest-free or low interest loan by a taxpayer to a trust. INTRODUCTION Currently, taxpayers…

Topics: Banking & Finance Law | Wills, Estates & Trusts

The legal advantages of marriage

Beyond having someone to call “hubby”, there are other benefits enjoyed by partners who are bound by a legally recognised marriage. This includes: Duty of support: If you are married, you and your spouse are obliged to support each other, depending on your respective…

Topics: Contract Law | Family Law | Wills, Estates & Trusts

Settlor Beware: Control Over Trust Assets

The establishment of an offshore discretionary trust (“the Trust”) by a South African tax resident person (“ Settlor ”) gives rise to various South African tax considerations. In terms of current law (which may or may not be impacted upon by the various…

Topics: Tax Law | Wills, Estates & Trusts

SARS Amendments To The Trust Income Tax Return For 2015

During the 2014 tax year, the South African Revenue Service (“SARS”) introduced a new income tax return for trusts (ITR12T) which was much more comprehensive than its predecessor. The contents of the return were also customised based on the answers to certain…

Topics: Tax Law | Wills, Estates & Trusts

Deceased Estate – Right To Claim Maintenance

South African law upholds the principle of freedom of testation. This means that people have control over the devolution of their estates in that they can make almost any bequests. But what happens when the testator forgot to make provision in his will for a child or…

Topics: Family Law | Wills, Estates & Trusts

Requirements for a Valid Will in South Africa

Having slaved away your entire life to accumulate wealth, and having spent further time, energy and possibly money on drawing up a will for the purpose of distributing your riches unto those deemed most worthy, you will want to ensure that you have a valid Will and that…

Topics: Wills, Estates & Trusts

The Advantages Of Having A Will

Most of us work hard and act prudently to build up and protect our estate. We want to enjoy the benefits of our labour and ultimately, provide for our dependants. To achieve this, we conclude many contracts and sign numerous documents. It seems foolhardy to undo all …

Topics: Family Law | Wills, Estates & Trusts

Wills, Estates & Trusts

State sets up trust to compensate victim after four year battle

Budget 2018 tax highlights

Should you be charging interest on loans made to a trust?

Death Rehearsal 101 – It’s never too early to get your affairs in order

Requirements for drafting a valid will in South Africa

Voluntary disclosure of undeclared foreign assets in offshore trusts

The Special Voluntary Disclosure Programme: An update and some practicalities and predicaments

The South African taxation of trusts: Recent developments

Taxation of investment vehicles in real estate (REITS & controlled companies)

Proposed Changes To Interest-Free Loans To Trusts

The legal advantages of marriage

Settlor Beware: Control Over Trust Assets

SARS Amendments To The Trust Income Tax Return For 2015

Deceased Estate – Right To Claim Maintenance

Requirements for a Valid Will in South Africa

The Advantages Of Having A Will

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