Making a Will in South Africa: A Guide to Helping Your Executor

TL;DR: Help your executor through estate information organization and asset location documentation which you can achieve by using LifeLocker and KeyHolder tools. Your executor requires access to your Will together with your financial documents and all property ownership records and insurance certificates and your digital account credentials. Good preparation saves your family time, money, and stress.

What Information Does Your Executor Need?

• The executor will perform their duties with greater efficiency when you create proper preparations. You can prevent your family members from spending months working through documents while they spend thousands of rands on unnecessary fees by properly organizing estate information and asset locations and creating detailed instructions.
• Your Will: Location of the original signed document
• Financial records: Bank accounts, investments, retirement funds, life insurance
• Property documents: Title deeds, vehicle registration
• Debt records: Mortgages, loans, credit cards
• Tax information: SARS tax number, previous returns

How Can You Make Your Executor’s Job Easier?

Use LifeLocker

Digital assets: Online accounts, passwords (stored securely via KeyHolder)

Keep Records Organised

LifeLocker allows you to store essential documents and messages which your executor can access when they require them.

Communicate With Your Executor

All estate-related documents need to be stored in a single central file which should be created.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I tell my executor where my Will is stored?

You need to share your desired outcomes with your executor while you should tell them about document storage locations and any particular directives which exist.