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Answered in 18 minutes by:
4/28/2015
VerifiedGood day and thank you for your question. My name is ***** ***** I will try and assist you today.
If there is no will, it would mean that the estate is to inherit in accordance with the Intestate Succession Act. That Act does not recognize so-called 'common law' partnerships. In order for her to inherit in terms of said Act, she would have had to be married to your father.
Having said that, she could potentially have a maintenance claim under the Maintenance of Surviving Spouses Act. This Act does recognize a so-called 'common law' partnership.
Finally, you have to distinguish between assets that is in the deceased estate (house, car, bank account etc) and assets like, for instance, life insurance policies. The former will be distributed in accordance with the Intestate Succession Act, as stated. The latter, however, will not fall into the estate if there is a nominated beneficiary listed on the policy. So, if I have a life insurance policy and I name my daughter as the beneficiary of that policy, the policy will pay out directly to her and will not be paid to the estate first.
Similarly, if he has named his girlfriend/fiance as a beneficiary on his life insurance policies/pension fund/annuities etc, then that money will not fall into the deceased estate to be distributed under the Intestate Succession Act, but will go to the girlfriend/fiance directly.
I sincerely ***** ***** I am making sense here, but if you have follow up questions before you rate, feel free to ask them at no extra cost. If you are satisfied with the service, kindly rate it positively.
If there is no will, it would mean that the estate is to inherit in accordance with the Intestate Succession Act. That Act does not recognize so-called 'common law' partnerships. In order for her to inherit in terms of said Act, she would have had to be married to your father.
Having said that, she could potentially have a maintenance claim under the Maintenance of Surviving Spouses Act. This Act does recognize a so-called 'common law' partnership.
Finally, you have to distinguish between assets that is in the deceased estate (house, car, bank account etc) and assets like, for instance, life insurance policies. The former will be distributed in accordance with the Intestate Succession Act, as stated. The latter, however, will not fall into the estate if there is a nominated beneficiary listed on the policy. So, if I have a life insurance policy and I name my daughter as the beneficiary of that policy, the policy will pay out directly to her and will not be paid to the estate first.
Similarly, if he has named his girlfriend/fiance as a beneficiary on his life insurance policies/pension fund/annuities etc, then that money will not fall into the deceased estate to be distributed under the Intestate Succession Act, but will go to the girlfriend/fiance directly.
I sincerely ***** ***** I am making sense here, but if you have follow up questions before you rate, feel free to ask them at no extra cost. If you are satisfied with the service, kindly rate it positively.
I suggest that you find an attorney who can assist you with the whole administration process. It is beyond the scope of this website for me to be able to assist you with this through this particular forum. It normally takes about 6 - 8 months for an executor to wind up the estate and there are a multitude of steps throughout this period.
You do not have to worry that you would have to carry attorneys fees in this regard, since the Administration of Estates Act state that the attorney is to get his money from the deceased estate and may only charge 3,5% plus VAT (where applicable)of the gross value of the estate.
You do not have to worry that you would have to carry attorneys fees in this regard, since the Administration of Estates Act state that the attorney is to get his money from the deceased estate and may only charge 3,5% plus VAT (where applicable)of the gross value of the estate.
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