Demystifying Trusts in South Africa, 2nd Edition

If you knew you were going to die tonight, would your loved ones have enough money to cope financially until your estate is wound up? Do you know how much Capital Gains Tax and Estate Duty your estate would pay? Would there be enough cash or liquidity in your estate to pay the different costs that would arise?

During our lifetimes, we all face risks, be it divorce, deaths, legal action, business failure, or claims from third parties. More than 90% of business owners close their doors within five to seven years of opening them. For those facing liquidation, up to 98% are stripped of all their personal assets resulting from sureties and guarantees they signed as business owners. They are left with nothing.

Many people believe that estate planning means having a will, but this is just one part of the plan. The number one wealth preservation rule is asset protection. Most of the wealthy do not own a cent. They control their businesses, properties and other assets through trusts. A trust will help you to separate your assets from your property investment debt, your business interests and/or your other financial risks.

Setting up a trust for the first time can be a daunting task. There are many so-called "professionals" out there who will offer their services without truly understanding the complexities and intricacies surrounding trusts. Rather than going in blindly, it is critical that you are armed with the right information to ensure that your wishes and intentions are clearly addressed in the trust deed. With South Africans becoming global citizens, special care should be taken where local or foreign trusts are used as part of a family's estate planning due to onerous tax provisions applied by the authorities.

If a trust forms part of your estate plan - and especially when it is set up as a generational estate preservation tool - not only should the goal be to leave a legacy of love but that your assets are protected in the manner you envisaged when you set it up in the first place.

This fully revised and expanded second edition serves as a reference guide to address important considerations when setting up a trust, what is expected of the various parties to a trust, what must be done to protect assets held in trust during your lifetime (and beyond), as well as tax considerations relating to trusts.