De Wet van der Watt - Sandton Inc

07/10/2026

At some stage during our stay on this mortal coil we may have to deal with a person dying on our watch. Most deaths do happen in a hospital or nursing home where the staff have the experience, know what to do, and will guide you in the right direction. Should you find yourself with a spouse, partner, friend, acquaintance or stranger who has died and there is no-one experienced in such things to help you, then –
1. Unless there has been foul play, don’t call the police; they will come and fetch the body but will only release the body to a proven relative or next-of-kin, or may well assume foul play and then there will be an autopsy, statements and affidavits to be made and investigated before the body is released for a funeral or memorial service or cremation. The whole situation becomes tricky when the only next-of-kin are abroad.
2. Rather call an ambulance to take the body to a hospital where a doctor will be able to certify the death. If you know the deceased’s doctor then you can rather call them as well as a funeral parlour. A funeral parlour should be saved on your smart phone as they are experts at dealing with bodies and, generally, do so with dignity and compassion.
3. Once the body is with the funeral parlour then you get hold of everyone who may know the deceased to inform them of his/her passing.
4. Then, if you or/and the deceased belong to a religious organisation, contact them and make arrangements for a funeral or memorial service. If you are not part of a religious organisation then the funeral parlour will help you arrange a memorial service. This is really important, do not be persuaded by near and dear persons who advise that the deceased never wanted a funeral; it is very important for family and friends to have closure and to have an opportunity to commiserate with the family and each other remembering the good times they shared with the deceased.
5. After that the estate of the deceased will be administered, which is a topic for another occasion.

29/09/2026

If you pass away without a Will, no matter what your personal circumstances are, there will be a bit of a mess to sort out by the people who survive you.
Without a Will the Intestate Act read with the Administration of Estates Act comes into effect on your assets and liabilities –
1. An Executor has to be appointed by the Master of the High Court to step into your shoes, take over your assets, bank accounts, investments, properties etc. determine your liabilities and pay them, then account to the Master and the heirs before paying them. There are a number of other formalities which have to be complied with, but at this stage it is important to note that an appointment has to be made. If a close family member is prepared to accept the appointment, this is the best outcome as they will not have to provide security as mentioned below. If there is no-one prepared to do this then an attorney or accountant or bank or trust company can be appointed but they would be required to provide security to the Master for the total value of the estate guaranteeing that they will not misappropriate the assets and will do a proper job. This security suretyship is not easy to get and will cost a premium as it is a form of insurance.
2. The Intestate Act determines the heirs of your net estate. In summary,
2.1 if you are not married and do not have children then your parents are your heirs in equal shares. If one of your parents pre-decease you, then their share will go to your siblings. If you have no siblings, then that pre-deceased parent’s share will go to their parents, your grandparents and further along the family line.
2.2 If you are married without children, then your spouse inherits everything.
2.3 If you are married with minor children then your estate is shared equally between your spouse and the children provided that your spouse gets a minimum of R250,000.
2.4 The minor children’s share is then paid into the Guardian’s Fund (a department of the Master of the High Court) and the children can claim the full amount of their inheritance when they become majors, that is, 18 years of age. Maintenance can be claimed from the Guardian’s Fund and requires the completion of documents and proof of the child’s needs; a difficult procedure intended to protect their inheritance. The growth of the inheritance does not normally compare favorably with commercial investments.
3. In a properly drafted Will, you will –
3.1 determine who the executor is and that they do not need to provide security as you will exempt them from this.
3.2 Stipulate whether anyone near and dear to you will get a particular asset or amount of money; known as a legacy; and
3.3 Stipulate who the heirs are to get the balance of your estate; and
3.4 If some of the heirs are minors, their share will be administered in a Trust until they are of an age where you believe they can look after their inheritance responsibly. The Trustees will be people you appoint in the Will who you trust will look after the children’s inheritance for the children’s benefit. They can also release funds from the Trust to look after the children’s needs as they grow older.
3.5 Normally you would leave the whole estate to your surviving spouse as you will trust him or her to look after the children you were both blessed with.
3.6 Provide for anything else like an interest in a business or a beneficiary of another trust although it is recommended that you do not attempt to rule from the grave.
4. As you would have gathered from the above it is OK not to have a Will if you do not have any children but absolutely essential if you have been blessed with children, and especially if you have chosen not to marry the children’s other parent.

We are ready and willing to assist you in the drafting of your Last Will and Testament.

21/09/2026

An Antenuptial Contract (ANC) is entered into between the prospective husband and wife before they marry and, at the present time, often, the Accrual system in terms of the Matrimonial Property Act is agreed to. (This is a very fair arrangement for a first marriage but may not be appropriate if one or both of the parties are marrying for a second or third time), but that is not the purpose of this blog.
It has happened that, after they are married the parties want to amend the conditions of the ANC for whatever reason. This is possible but quite expensive as an application to the High Court is required, all the parties’ creditors have to be given notice and, generally, the cost could range between R50,000 and R100,000. However, if we consider the agreement as between the husband and wife and that the ANC dictates their property rights and obligations between them, then, as long as the sought-after amendment does not and will not affect third parties (like creditors) then there is no reason why they cannot have an agreement between them incorporating the amendment.
We were consulted by a party who wanted to remove the Accrual provisions from their ANC. In this instance no special agreement was needed as the Accrual provision merely gives to the one party (normally the survivor on the other party’s death) a right to claim an amount from the deceased’s estate sufficient to make both the estates equal. However, the survivor does not have to exercise that right or to claim the full amount they may be entitled to; the choice is theirs. In the normal course of events the survivor would, in any event, be the main beneficiary in term of the deceased’s Will.
Maybe we will look at what is involved if the parties are married in community of property and want to change that to a marriage out of community of property (that is, with and ANC, with or without accrual).

07/09/2026

31/08/2026

https://www.dewetvanderwatt.co.za/

19/05/2026

https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1422130469954292&set=a.301369212030429

Relocation of the Master of High Court Pretoria to Metropark building