Millennials are the first generation to fully embrace the digital age. They often have extensive online presence, including social media accounts, cryptocurrency wallets, and digital photo libraries. A will can address the management and distribution of these digital assets, providing clear instructions on how to handle valuable online accounts and ensuring that sentimental or monetary value is preserved.
In South Africa, family trusts are taxed at a flat rate of 45% on income generated during a tax year. When assets are transferred into a family trust, donations tax may be applicable if the transfer is deemed a donation. Donations tax is currently set at a rate of 20% and is levied on the value of the asset transferred. However, certain exemptions and thresholds exist, such as the annual donations tax exemption of ZAR 100,000 per person.
The executor can be anyone that the deceased person trusts, like a friend, an attorney or a family member. There are, however, a few individuals and entities that are disqualified from being an executor, including but not limited to an insolvent person, a minor child, a company, the Master of the High Court and anyone disqualified from being an executor in terms of the Act
Every trust in South Africa has to register as a taxpayer in terms of the Income Tax Act. In terms of the recent amendments, the South African Revenue Service (SARS) is one of the entities given access to the Master’s portal.
A family trust can provide a level of protection for your assets. By transferring assets to the trust, they are no longer personally owned, which may offer some protection from creditors, potential lawsuits, or other financial risks.
