Wills in South Africa: How to Get a Valid Will (Without Paying a Cent)

Here's a strange fact about South Africa:

A will is the cheapest important document you'll ever create, ours are literally free, and yet roughly 70% of South Africans die without one.

Not because people don't care about their families.

Because they think it's expensive, complicated, or something to do "later."

Let's fix all three of those today. This page covers what makes a will legally valid, what happens if you skip it, and how to get yours professionally drafted within 48 hours, at no cost.

What is a will, in plain language?

A will (or "last will and testament", same thing) is a document that answers four questions after you're gone:

1. Who gets your assets, your house, money, car, everything.
2. Who raises your children, the guardian you nominate.
3. Who manages the money you leave to minors (usually through a testamentary trust).
4. Who winds up your estate, your executor.

No will? Those four questions get answered by a law from 1987 called the Intestate Succession Act, and its answers may look nothing like yours. We wrote a full breakdown of exactly who inherits when there's no will, and it surprises almost everyone who reads it.

What makes a will valid in South Africa? (The Wills Act requirements)

The Wills Act 7 of 1953 sets the rules. Miss one, and your will can be rejected, which means your family gets treated as if you never wrote it.

Simple rules. Brutally enforced.

And here's the thing: DIY wills fail these tests all the time. A bank teller signs as the only witness. Pages go unsigned. An heir witnesses the document. The will worked fine in the drawer, right up until the day it actually mattered.

What happens if you die without a will?

Short version: the Intestate Succession Act distributes your estate by formula.

Your spouse gets the greater of R250,000 or a "child's share." Your children split the rest. Unmarried partners can face an uphill battle to prove they qualify. Money left to minor children can end up in the state-run Guardian's Fund instead of with the person raising them.

The full picture (with worked examples in rand) is here: Who inherits when there's no will

Who should you name as executor?

Your executor is the person or company that winds up your estate, collects the assets, pays the debts, deals with SARS and the Master of the High Court, and distributes the inheritance.

You have two options:

A family member. Free-ish, but they'll be doing unfamiliar legal admin while grieving, the Master may require them to put up security (an insurance bond) before appointing them, and mistakes cause months of delays.

A professional. Standard executor remuneration in South Africa is up to 3.5% of the gross estate + VAT, but it's negotiable, and a professional deals with the Master's Office every single day.

Many families do both: nominate a professional executor, with a trusted family member kept informed at every step. Our estate administration service gives every family a dedicated case manager for exactly this reason, here's how the winding-up process works.

When should you update your will?

Your will is a snapshot. Life keeps moving. Update it when:

• You get married, marriage doesn't revoke a will in SA, so your old will (perhaps leaving everything to a parent or an ex) stays in force.
• You get divorced, here's a deadline most people don't know: a bequest to your ex-spouse falls away only for 3 months after the divorce. If you die more than 3 months after your divorce and your will still names your ex….they inherit. Update it immediately.
• A child is born.
• You buy property or your assets change significantly.
• A beneficiary, guardian or executor dies.

With Wills & Trust, amendments are unlimited and free, so "I'll update it someday" never costs your family anything.

How to get your will done (free, 48 hours)

No drafting fee. No amendment fees. Shari'ah-compliant wills available.