Securing your wealth to work for you in your lifetime and after takes planning and patience.Because trusts enjoy many legal protections in South Africa, they are a safe way to secure money that you set aside for a particular purpose – whether it’s for your family, business or a legacy project. Your estate, too, can be a tool for managing a trust if you so wish, if you appoint the right people to continue your legacy after you have passed on.
Trust Administration
Whoever or whatever you wish to preserve your wealth for, a trust is the ideal option for keeping funds safe and untouchable for decades. There are many kinds of trusts, but all are protected by extensive legal conditions. Trusts have been effectively used to protect assets, finance legacy projects, protect donations towards a cause, pay for several generations of descendants’ or beneficiaries’ education, and much more. Having your trust managed by a reputable financial and/or legal institution is the best way to ensure that the contents of the trust are protected indefinitely.
There are many kinds of trust available in South Africa:
- Testamentary Trust: This kind of trust can only be established after your death by a clause in your will. It is generally established for the sake of keeping money and assets safe until underage beneficiaries of a will come of age.
- Charitable Trust: These trusts make donations to charities or non-profit organisations on your behalf, generally after your death. They can accept and hand out donations without being liable for tax.
- Guardian’s Trust: This kind of trust works to offer financial security to your heirs after your death and cannot be used for any other purpose. This makes a Guardian’s Trust a guaranteed benefit for those you choose as the trust beneficiaries.
- Settlement Trust: These trusts are set up for one of two possible reasons: either it is used to manage payouts from settlements, claims and policies which are paid out to minors (and so cannot be handed over until they come of age), or it is used for management of such payouts when the beneficiaries are adults.
- Inter Vivos Trust: This is a trust that you can create in your lifetime, with the benefits being paid out while you are still alive. It can continue to operate after your death if you so wish.
There are other types of trust in addition to these; feel free to ask us about them.
Estate Planning
Whether or not your estate involves the establishment of a trust, the fact is that planning is essential. Life is unpredictable, and having your will and assets in order in the event of your passing will reduce the strain on your family and heirs in their time of grief. While your pursuit of wealth will hopefully remain uninterrupted, provisions should be made for in case it should be passed on. TLT Accountants can work to put together your will, have your estate managed and ensure that your family and heirs are cared for after your passing.