“I am a single person without a child who is taking care of my late sister’s child. I am worried that should I die while my niece is still a minor, who will look after her? Can I leave my entire estate to my minor niece even though she is not my biological child or should I just trust my mother who understands that my niece is fully dependent on me to help support her when I am gone?”


To answer your question, yes you can bequeath your entire estate to your niece by creating a valid Will. A Will is a legal binding document in the South African law which affords you the privilege to decide how you would want your assets and finances to be distributed upon your death. It is your loved ones who will carry the heaviest burden of having to find solace with your departure and to see what will happen to your estate. At this point, your loved ones are not only dealing with loss, but are also worried about what will happen to them, especially in a case where there is a loved one who is financially dependent on you. Instead of leaving your family to deal with your departure and to worry about what will happen to your estate, you can ease their pain and spare them the trouble of trying to figure out what you would have wished to happen to your estate by creating a valid Will today. Leaving a valid will assists your family to handle your estate according to your directions and wishes and it also limits the quarrels that may arise in your family regarding your estate.

Not only does having a Will ensure that the future of your loved ones is financially taken care of as you had intended, but it also ensures that your hard-earned estate is administered and distributed according to your wishes. Having a valid Will speeds up the lengthy administration process and avoids conflicts and disagreements amongst family members. Through your Will, you can appoint a person of your choice whom you trust to be the guardian of your children upon your death. In a case where you have a trust fund for your children, you can include the Nomination and Appointment of Trustees clause in your Will and nominate the trustee(s) of your choice. The Trustees will administer the trust on your behalf based on your directions.

Should you die intestate (Not having made a will before one dies) then the Intestate Succession Act will determine how your estate will be distributed based on what is just and fair according to its provisions and not your wishes. At times a family member could benefit from your estate even though you never intended them to and in other cases people might be excluded because of legalities as in the question above. If there was no formal adoption of the sister’s child, she may not inherit from the deceased. Thus it is important for one to have a Will so as to express their wishes and protect their interests when they are no longer there to do it themselves.

You do not wish for your Last Will and Testament’s validity to be questioned in a court of law, thus is it crucial that you seek the guidance of an Attorney who is an expert in Wills and The Administration of Deceased Estates to assist you to create a valid Will. Remember that you can make a promise to a loved one which you intend to fulfil but you cannot guarantee that your promise will be fulfilled if they are not backed up by a valid Will.