• Evaluate you and your dependants’ state of health. REMEMBER this can change at any time. Your medical needs should be considered first. Also look at your family’s medical history.
• Decide what you can afford.
• Keep in mind that you will have the opportunity to change your option at the end of every year as your needs change.
• Decide what you can afford.
• Keep in mind that you will have the opportunity to change your option at the end of every year as your needs change.

Yes. Medical aids used to be able to reject applicants based on their age or health but it is no longer legal to do so. Cover can be excluded for a period of time e.g. a pregnancy may not be covered if you are already pregnant when you apply. Yes, a medical scheme is not allowed to decline membership to anyone. They may only impose a waiting period.

In some cases, medical aids are entitled to impose a 3 month general waiting period, during which no claims will be paid, and / or a 12 month exclusion for any pre-existing medical conditions. A medical scheme may impose a waiting period depending of if/how long you were a member of a registered South African medical scheme. There are two types of waiting periods 1. A Three month general waiting period, you are not entitled to any cover in this period 2. A twelve month condition specific waiting period, this will exclude any existing condition for a period of twelve months from start of membership.

The Medical Schemes Act makes provision for schemes to apply a late joiner penalty to members over the age of 35. Depending on the number of years that you have not belonged to a registered South African medical scheme since the age of 21, the late joiner penalty is calculated as a percentage of your monthly contribution and will be added to your monthly contribution. A late joiner penalty is a penalty imposed on members older than 35 who have not previously belonged to a registered South African medical scheme or who had a break in membership. This penalty is calculated on a sliding scale depending on the number of years that you were not a member.

A medical savings account is a pool of the member’s own money set aside from the contribution for payment of day-to-day medical expenses (anything that happens outside of a hospital). Any portion that is not used in the year carries forward to the following year and is paid out upon termination of membership. A medical savings account is a benefit on new-generation medical schemes that you use to fund your own day-to-day expenses, like going to the GP, dentist etc. Any unused money will be transferred to the next year and always remains your money.

In the case of a medical aid with a medical savings account, your out of hospital expenses are limited to the amount of medical savings you contribute. On a capitation plan, your out of hospital expenses are limited to a clearly defined number of visits or monetary amount per benefit. Limited day-to-day means that you may be limited in terms of a Rand amount or maybe a number of visits for a certain benefit.

These plans make use of a network of hospitals, doctors and/or dentists that the member must use in order to be covered. This keeps the costs for the medical aid schemes down, which allows the contributions to be cheaper.

A comprehensive plan has a high level of hospital cover, day-to-day benefits and chronic medication benefits. A threshold benefit is usually also included which provides insurance cover if your day to day medical expenses exceed a certain amount.

A co-payment is a portion of the cost of a procedure for which the member is responsible.

A group of medical service providers specified in the scheme rules from whom services must be obtained to enjoy appropriate treatment and lower or no co-payments.

This is a list of 270 treatments for which all medical aid schemes in South Africa have to provide cover in terms of the Medical Schemes Act. It also includes the following 26 chronic diseases: Addison’s Disease, Asthma, Bipolar Mood Disorder, Bronchiectasis, Cardiac Failure, Cardiomyopathy, Chronic Renal Disease, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, Coronary Artery Disease, Crohn’s Disease, Diabetes Insipidus, Diabetes Mellitus Type 1 & 2, Cardiac Dysrythmias, Epilepsy, Glaucoma, Haemophilia, HIV / AIDS, Hyperlipidaemia, Hypertension, Hypothyroidism, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s Disease, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Schizophrenia, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and Ulcerative Colitis

No, not unless it is a restricted scheme and the member is not entitled to join that particular scheme. In the event of non-disclosure, the scheme may request immediate termination of membership.

Whether you need a Will or not depends on your circumstances. If you do not have any minor children and no assets of value in your name then you probably don’t need a Will. If you die without a valid Will then the laws of intestacy will govern how your estate will be managed. It will be uncertain who should manage your estate. If a suitable family member or friend does not step forward and apply for the job then the provincial Public Trustee will administer your estate. Your estate will be divided among your next of kin in accordance with provincial law. If you do not have any living relatives then your estate will be given to the provincial government. The guardianship of any minor children you have will be determined by your provincial Ministry of Children and Families.

Your Will automatically takes effect upon your death. However, in order to use your Will to transfer assets such as a bank account or a house, the bank and land registries want to see that the Will has been approved by the probate court. Therefore, although the Will is in effect from the date of death, the executor will not be able to transfer assets until probated. Your Will does not have any authority over you or your estate during your life time. If you want someone to manage your affairs while you are alive (if you are unavailable on a vacation or lose mental capacity) then you need to appoint them to do so using a Power of Attorney.

Entering into a legal marriage may revoke your existing Will. If you get married after you make your Will you should either make a new Will or get legal advice on whether you old Will is still valid and appropriate for your needs.

Your Will is not revoked by separation or divorce. You need to get legal advice.

A document that amends a Will is called a Codicil. For a Codicil to effectively change your Will it needs to be signed with the same formality as your Will. You cannot change your Will by making handwritten changes and initialing them. If you try this, you will be creating huge problems for your executor. It is safer and often easier to do a new Will to replace the old one then to try to change your Will. Signing a replacement Will also makes it cheaper and easier for your executor as there will only be one document to probate and one Will is easier to read than a Will with an Codicil amending it.

A document that amends a Will is called a Codicil. For a Codicil to effectively change your Will it needs to be signed with the same formality as your Will. You cannot change your Will by making handwritten changes and initialing them. If you try this, you will be creating huge problems for your executor. It is safer and often easier to do a new Will to replace the old one then to try to change your Will. Signing a replacement Will also makes it cheaper and easier for your executor as there will only be one document to probate and one Will is easier to read than a Will with an Codicil amending it.

No. You each need a separate Will. Trying to have one document act as the Will for both of you will cause major problems for your executor and may make it very difficult to probate your Will.

No. Only in the movies and on TV. Your Will must be in writing.

Your executor is responsible for all aspects of the management of your estate, including: Taking care of funeral and burial arrangements Protecting your assets against damage or loss Locating your Will and submitting it for probate Paying your debts Completing your tax returns and paying your taxes Maintaining trusts for beneficiaries Providing information to your family and beneficiaries Distributing the balance of your estate to your beneficiaries Your executor should hire a lawyer and accountant to assist them.

You can appoint any adult to be your executor. However, being the executor of an estate can be a complex, difficult job. Your executor is responsible for your funeral arrangements, obtaining probate of your Will, managing your assets until they are sold or given to your beneficiaries, paying your bills, preparing and submitting your taxes, distributing your estate as you have requested, maintaining trusts for you children and other minors, and dealing with the legal and accounting matters relating to your estate. Accordingly, your executor must be: Honest and trustworthy; Capable of doing the job (your executor does not need to be an expert, they should hire a lawyer and accountant to assist them, but they should at least be someone you feel is doing a good job of managing their own affairs); and have the time and willingness to do the job. Another factor to consider is that it is convenient if your executor lives in the same city (or at least the same province as you). This factor should not overshadow the other three criteria above. You should choose someone who is trustworthy, capable and willing over someone who is not, even if they live on the other side of the country. It is also beneficial if your executor has a direct interest in your estate. If you choose one of your beneficiaries, they will have more incentive to get things done in a timely fashion.

Executors are entitled to pay themselves compensation from your estate in accordance with the Trustee Act (typically a one time fee of about 2-3,5% of the value of your estate).

Executors are not personally liable for any debts of the estate, unless funds of the estate are diverted to other payments prior to paying debts or taxes.

Your estate is insolvent if you have more debts than assets. Your executor has to liquidate the assets you do have and pay down your debts. Some of your creditors will not be paid in full. Your beneficiaries will not receive anything. Your reasonable funeral costs, the costs of probating your Will and your executors’ fee will all be paid before payments are made to creditors.

Probate court is a division of the court that deals with Wills and estates. To probate a Will, the executor must make an application to the probate court with the original Will and information about the deceased, the deceased’s family and the deceased’s assets and liabilities. Obtaining probate of the Will is the normal procedure for dealing with estates where there is a Will.

If you did not have mental capacity at the time you made your Will then it is not valid. Someone could challenge the validity of your Will for this reason. If there is any question about your mental capacity due to age or disease you need to see a lawyer in person to prepare your Will. The lawyer will be able to assess you ability to make a valid Will and provide evidence of your capacity if needed.

If you have disinherited your spouse or one or more children then they can apply under provincial law (Wills Variation Act/Dependents Relief Act) to change the way your estate is distributed among beneficiaries. Whether they succeed in varying your Will depends on many factors including the size of your estate, any property passing outside of your estate (such as life insurance, joint property and Retirement Annuities), any gifts you made to the applicant or beneficiaries during your lifetime, the financial needs of the applicant and the beneficiaries you have named instead and the history of the relationship between you and the applicant.

You can make a contingent gift in your Will that will take effect if your main beneficiaries die before you, with you or before receiving their entire share.

If a beneficiary dies before you then their inheritance is given to the alternate beneficiary named in your Will or to the deceased person’s estate if that is what you have directed in your Will.

You can appoint a guardian in your Will to take care of your children while they are minors.

The choice of guardian is a very personal decision. The person or couple you choose should share your beliefs in raising children. Above all, you need to consult with your intended guardians before you appoint them. You may want to name an alternate in case your first choice is not able to act.

You should direct your trustee to hold your children’s inheritance in a testamentary trust until they are mature enough to handle the responsibility themselves. A large inheritance could cause difficulties for a 19 year old. Your executor will be able to use the money held in trust to assist your child and pay for your child’s expenses. If you anticipate that there will be a large inheritance, you may consider having more than one release date (for example 50% at the age 21 and the rest at 25). We do not recommend holding money in trust past the age of 30.

A properly drafted Will includes wording to deal with additional children. If you want to leave everything in equal shares to your children if your spouse dies before you then your Will should be written to include any additional children you have after making your Will included in the distribution.

No. Your Will deals with everything your own. It is not necessary to list specific assets unless you want to gift them to specific beneficiaries.

If you have named a beneficiary in your Retirement Annuity documentation then the assets in the Retirement Annuities are given directly to that named beneficiary by the bank or investment company. If you have not named a beneficiary, your beneficiary dies before you or you have named your estate as your beneficiary then the assets in your Retirement Annuities are distributed in accordance with your Will as an asset of your estate. The value of your Retirement Annuities on the date of your death is included in your income when calculating your taxes for your final tax return. The beneficiaries receive the assets and can sell them tax free. There are two exceptions to this rule discussed below. If your estate does not have enough money to pay the tax bill caused by the release of the assets from your Retirement Annuities to the named beneficiary then SARS (South African Receiver of Revenue) can recover the tax directly from the money received by the beneficiary.

If you have named a beneficiary in your life insurance documentation then the proceeds are given directly to that named beneficiary by the life insurance company. If you have not named a beneficiary, your beneficiary dies before you or you have named your estate as your beneficiary then the proceeds are distributed in accordance with your Will as an asset of your estate. There are no taxes on the proceeds of life insurance.

If you are leaving your estate, Retirement Annuities and life insurance proceeds to your spouse then name him or her as the beneficiary of your life insurance and Retirement Annuities. If you do not have a spouse then you may want to consider naming your estate as the beneficiary of your life insurance and Retirement Annuities. However, there are costs and benefits of doing this. The benefit of naming your estate is that the money will become part of your estate and will be distributed along with the other assets. Trusts for minors will apply. It will likely make your estate planning and the administration of your estate easier for your executor.

Yes. The taxes on dying in South Africa is called Estate Duty and is payable on the “net value of an estate (property plus deemed property less liabilities and deductions in terms of section 4 of the Act) a fixed amount in terms of section 4A is deducted from the net value of the estate to establish the “dutiable amount of the estate” on which 20% estate duty is levied. As from 1 March 2007 this amount is R3 500 000.

Things that you own jointly with your spouse or other person automatically transfer to the surviving joint owner when you die. They do not become part of your estate and are not controlled by your Will.

It is possible to do a Will without using a lawyer. espresso-O-Will, consulted with lawyers specializing Wills and Estate Planning to make sure your Will is properly drafted to meet your needs and provide you the peace of mind that your Will has been done correctly.

We have included a section whereby you can automatically elect to become an organ donor. You are responsible in ensuring that your registration is noted and updated with the Organ Donor Fund of South Africa. We are in the process of finalizing a streamlined process where this is automatically done for you once selected.

You should discuss them with your family and make your wishes know. You can make pre-arrangements with a funeral home. You can put your funeral wishes and burial instructions in your Will or in a letter of wishes.

A Living Will is a written statement to family and health care providers specifying your wishes in the event that you are terminally ill with no chance of recovery.

A Power of Attorney is a legal document where a person can appoint another (the attorney) to manage their affairs. An Enduring Power of Attorney remains valid even if the person giving it loses mental capacity. It can be used for a spouse, family member or trusted friend to help a person who has lost the ability to look after his or her own financial affairs. It must be signed before the person loses capacity.

• A severe illness typically has four phases. You are diagnosed in the first phase and treated in the second. In the third you need to recover. In the fourth phase you face the financial impact of the unexpected expenses a severe illness can have on you, your family and business.
• Your medical aid and gap cover is designed to support you through the first two phases. Severe Illness Cover is there to support you through the last two phases.To help the cost of being absent from work during recovery, being cared for at home while ill, modifying your lifestyle and your home, and even early retirement due to ill health

In simple terms, the employer makes a position redundant when its duties are no longer needed to be done by anyone. Once the position is redundant, the person doing its duties may either be redeployed (i.e. given another job) or retrenched (i.e. lose their job and not be offered another) The reality: Thousands of individuals are retrenched every month. Being retrenched is emotionally challenging and scary at the same time – the prospect of maintaining your general living expenses can be very stressful. Why do I need a retrenchment policy:

• Gives you the freedom to look for a new job without the financial pressure of not earning a monthly income.
• It pays you up to six months’ income if you are retrenched from your job and become unemployed.
  

• Disability cover is a lump sum benefit that pays out in the unfortunate event of your disability.
• Often necessary lifestyle adjustments need to be made and disability cover can pay for any unexpected costs associated with this condition.
• A disability lump sum may help settle your debts.
• Income Protection insurance can help protect your most valuable assets: your salary, to continue to paying your monthly obligations.

In many instances when a business borrows money, the financier will require the business owner to sign surety for the business loan. When a business owner passes away, the financier may demand repayment of the loan from the business owner`s deceased estate. This might have dire consequences for the dependants. To prevent this, the business may take out life cover on the life of the business owner. The pay-out from the life insurance policy is then used to repay the loan from the bank on the passing away of the business owner

Life policies may take months to pay out, most funeral policies pay within 48 hours.

A funeral policy will help pay for your own or your loved ones funeral.

Funeral policies allow for the burial of loved ones in a dignified way without worrying about how you will pay for the funeral.

Should you lose your ability to work your employer may stop paying your salary at some point in time. This period may vary depending on the terms and conditions of your employment contract.

Income Protection replaces part of your income if you cannot work for a while due to unforeseen illness or disability

Income Protection insurance can help protect your most valuable assets: your salary, to continue to paying your monthly obligations.

Should you lose your ability to work your employer may stop paying your salary at some point in time. This period may vary depending on the terms and conditions of your employment contract.

Income Protection replaces part of your income if you cannot work for a while due to unforeseen illness or disability.

Key Person: Key man insurance is simply life insurance on the key person in a business. In a small business, it is usually the owner, the founders of the business or perhaps a key employee. Key persons are crucial to a business; their absence could sink the company. Buy and Sell: Buy and sell insurance provides surviving co-owners of a company with funds to purchase the interest or share of the deceased or disabled co-owner. If the shareholding is significant, it could be impossible for the existing shareholders to access sufficient capital at short notice to buy the shares. Without any capital provision, new shareholders may need to be found, a buy and sell policy provides for this shortfall. Contingent liability