Estate Planning - Part 2

Two more questions on Estate planning

Will my spouse have cash available?
Many people overlook the fact that their surviving spouse will need cash to live on after they die while the estate is being wound up and this can lead to serious problems and inconveniences. Once your bank gets wind of the fact that you are dead it will freeze your account. It takes time to finalize most insurance payouts. This is especially so when the circumstances surrounding a death need to be investigated. You should provide cash for your surviving spouse that will support him or her for two to three months. For this purpose, the spouse should have his or her own bank account. Alternatively, the surviving spouse should have a unit trust investment in his or her name that can be sold quickly to realise cash when this is needed.

How does my marriage affect my will?
If you are married in community of property, all assets acquired before the marriage and during the marriage belong to both of you equally. In this case, when you draw up a will, you can generally only deal with half the assets of the marriage. If you are married out of community of property, any assets you acquired before your marriage remain your own, but assets acquired during the marriage belong to you both – unless you specifically state that assets acquired during the marriage belong to the spouse who acquired them. If you leave assets to your children, the law includes:
· Children born of your marriage or any previous marriage;
· Children born out of marriage; and
· Legally adopted children.