What to consider when drawing up your will

A will is not all about divvying up your estate - there are some other important considerations that you need to think about.

- Dawn Ridler

Your spouse gets preferential treatment

In terms of Section 4(q) of the Estate Duty Act 45 of 1955, any asset left to a spouse does not attract estate duty, and such assets do not trigger capital gains tax (they transfer at base cost).

If not used for third parties, the R3.5 million abatement (an allowance which you can deduct from the estate value before estate duty is applied) will roll over to the surviving spouse (making it up to R7 million). Any asset not left to a spouse will attract estate duty (once over the R3.5 million abatement).