"Fiduciary" is one of those words that makes people's eyes glaze over.
So here's the caveman version: a fiduciary is someone legally required to manage money for your benefit, not theirs.
Executors, trustees, guardians, curators, beneficiary fund administrators, all fiduciaries. All bound by law to put the beneficiary first.
This page covers the fiduciary services families actually search for: what happens to a child's money when a parent dies, how beneficiary funds work, the difference between guardianship and trusteeship, and how to trace an inheritance that may be sitting unclaimed with your name on it.
Fiduciary services map
Five protection jobs families confuse after a death
Executors, trustees, guardians, beneficiary funds, and tracing support each solve a different problem. This page separates them clearly.
- Executor: winds up the deceased estate.
- Trustee: manages trust assets for beneficiaries.
- Guardian: cares for the child, not the money.
- Beneficiary fund: protects pension death benefits for minors.
What does a fiduciary actually do?
Fiduciary duty
The legal duty is not optional
Anyone managing money for another person has to prove the money was handled for that beneficiary, not for convenience or personal benefit.
- Act solely in the beneficiary's interest, no self-dealing, no shortcuts.
- Account for every rand, proper records, open books.
- Exercise care, diligence and skill, the standard of a professional, not a favour-doing friend.
When you nominate an executor in your will, appoint trustees for your trust, or name a guardian for your children, you're choosing fiduciaries. Choose like it matters, because it does.
Beneficiary funds
Beneficiary funds explained, the short version
Here's a situation that plays out thousands of times a year in South Africa:
A parent dies. Their pension or provident fund must pay out a death benefit. Some of that benefit is due to a minor child.
The fund's trustees now have a decision to make under section 37C of the Pension Funds Act: pay the child's share to the guardian directly….or place it in a beneficiary fund.
A beneficiary fund is a regulated, FSCA-supervised fund that:
- Holds and invests the child's money professionally,
- Pays the caregiver regular amounts for the child's needs, school fees, food, clothing, medical costs,
- Pays out the balance when the child becomes a major,
- And does it all with tax-free payouts in the child's hands.
It exists because the sad truth is that lump sums paid to caregivers don't always reach the child. A beneficiary fund puts a fiduciary between the money and everyone who might "borrow" it.
How does it compare to the alternatives, a testamentary trust, or the state's Guardian's Fund? We built the full comparison table here: Beneficiary funds explained
Two separate jobs
Guardianship vs trusteeship
Two different jobs. Often two different people. Here's the clean split:
- A guardian looks after the child, where they live, their schooling, their medical decisions, their day-to-day life.
- A trustee looks after the child's money, investing it, releasing it for the child's needs, protecting it until the child is old enough.
You nominate BOTH in your will. And here's why it matters: they don't have to be the same person. Your sister might be the perfect person to raise your kids and a terrible person to manage R2 million. Split the roles, and each does what they're best at, with the trustee accountable to the guardian's requests, and both accountable in law.
What happens if you nominate neither? The child's money is likely headed for the Guardian's Fund at the Master of the High Court, where the caregiver must apply, form by form, for every maintenance payment. Full guide: Guardianship in South Africa
Unclaimed inheritance
Unclaimed inheritances are real, and scams are real too
Billions of rand in South Africa sit in unclaimed benefits funds, the Guardian's Fund, and insurers' books, money owed to people who don't know it exists.
It happens more easily than you'd think:
- A parent had a pension from an employer decades ago. Nobody told the fund they died.
- An estate was wound up and an heir couldn't be traced, so their share went to the Guardian's Fund.
- A life policy existed that the family never knew about.
The money doesn't vanish. It waits. (In the Guardian's Fund, for up to 30 years, after which it's forfeited to the state.)
There are official, free ways to search: the FSCA's unclaimed benefits search engine, the Guardian's Fund at the Master's Office, and insurer tracing services. There are also scammers charging "release fees" for money that was free to claim, or that never existed.
Step-by-step search instructions, the documents you'll need, and the scam warning signs: How to check for unclaimed inheritance
What Wills & Trust does in all of this
Our role
Fiduciary support, end to end
- Professional trusteeship for testamentary trusts (Children's, Widow's and Provider's Trusts), so your children's inheritance is professionally managed, not parked with the state.
- Executorship and estate administration with a dedicated case manager. (How the process works)
- Beneficiary fund guidance for caregivers dealing with section 37C payouts.
- Inheritance tracing support when you suspect money is sitting unclaimed.
The common thread: someone whose legal job is to be on your family's side of the table.
Quick answers
Questions families ask about fiduciary services
What is the meaning of fiduciary services?
Services where a person or institution manages assets under a legal duty to act solely in the beneficiary's interest, executorship, trusteeship, guardianship of property, and beneficiary fund administration.
What is a beneficiary fund?
A regulated fund created under the Pension Funds Act to hold and manage retirement-fund death benefits for beneficiaries, usually minor children, with professional investment and tax-free payouts.
What is the difference between a guardian and a trustee?
The guardian cares for the child; the trustee manages the child's money. Nominate both in your will, they needn't be the same person.
How do I check for unclaimed inheritance in South Africa?
Search the FSCA unclaimed benefits database, enquire at the Guardian's Fund (Master of the High Court), and check with insurers. All official searches are free, never pay an upfront "release fee." Full guide here.
Ready to put this in place?
Put the right fiduciary support around your family
We can help connect wills, trusts, executor choices, guardianship planning, and beneficiary protection into one practical estate plan.
Plan fiduciary support
