Page 37 - Nexia SAB&T Estate Planning Guide 2024

inheritances, donations or legacies received by one spouse during
the course of the marriage, donations between spouses, any assets
specifically excluded in the contract, and any cash paid to the spouse
in regard to a claim for defamation (as this claim would have been of a
personal nature).
Marital property regimes and estate planning
Donations between spouses are exempt from donations tax and estate duty.
Marriage in community of property
n In the event of the death of one spouse, the surviving spouse will have a
claim for 50% of the value of the combined estate, thus reducing the actual
value of the estate by 50%. The estate is divided after all the debts have
been settled in a deceased estate (not including burial costs and estate duty,
as these are the sole obligations of the deceased and not the joint estate).
n When drafting a Last Will and Testament, spouses married in community of
property need to be aware that it is only half of any asset that he or she is
able to bequeath.
n Upon the death of one spouse, all banking accounts are frozen (even if they
are in the name of one of the spouses), which could affect liquidity.
n Donations or bequests to someone married in community of property can be
made to exclude the community of property – in other words – if the donor
stipulates that the donation must not fall into the joint estate, then the donee
can build up a separate estate. However returns on such separate assets will
go back to the joint estate.
n Fideicommissary property and usufructs do not form part of the joint estate,
however the fruits or income derived there from, do.
Marriage with ANC
n Each estate planner (spouse) retains possession of assets owned prior to
marriage.
Marriage with accrual
n A donation from one spouse to the other spouse is excluded from the
calculation of each spouse’s accrual- in other words, the recipient does not
include it in his growth and the donor’s accrual is automatically reduced by
the donation amount.

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