Welcome to the final post in our blog series about writing your will for the life stage you are currently in! The goal of this blog series has been to give tips for writing your will specific to the life stage you find yourself in. In our final post we will give you some tips for writing your will when retired and married.
If you are in another life stage, take a look at our previous posts. If you are single without a partner, single with a life partner, married without children, married with children or divorced you can read the relevant posts by clicking the links. For a checklist on how to write your will in general, you can find that here.
Writing your will when retired and married
As you grow older, the most straightforward way of disposing your assets is by leaving everything to your spouse with the condition that everything goes to your children on your spouse’s death.
Also note that any bequest to your surviving spouse is exempt from estate duty. That being said, is is important to know that this might push your spouse’s entire estate over the R3.5 million mark. Estate duty will then eventually be due on this greater amount.
As you get older, you should be reviewing your will at least once a year. You should also be reviewing it after each major family event (like the birth of a grandchild). If you do not, it is important to write your will in a manner that does not inadvertently disinherit someone (such as a grandchild). You can prevent such a mistake by referring to your grandchildren as a group and not individually.
The purpose of your will changes as you grow older. The donations you make in this life stage are donations made more out of love and less out of necessity. Your donations are generally going to be less about your beneficiaries’ physical maintenance because most will now be independent.
If you require any assistance regarding writing your will when retired and married, please do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected]. Also, remember to subscribe to our blog!