Selling Your House to a Non-Resident
“Oh, I’m an alien, I’m a legal alien” (Sting’s ‘Englishman in New York’) South Africa is attractive to overseas property buyers with our world-class lifestyle, depreciated Rand, strong property registration and legal systems, and minimal restrictions against...
Security Warning: Property Sale Cybercrime Surges, and a New AI Danger
“The infectiousness of crime is like that of the plague” (Napoleon Bonaparte) This October marks the 20th anniversary of the globally observed “Cyber Security Awareness Month”, and with cybercrime continuing to surge, here’s a cautionary tale to bear in mind. You buy...
Dementia: Understanding Your Legal Options
“Dementia is the plague of our time, the disease of the century” (Unattributed) Dementia is a widespread medical condition that affects people of all ages but particularly the elderly, and includes conditions like Alzheimer's. One of the most significant challenges of...
Can a Video Call be a Valid Will?
“Death is not the end. There remains the litigation over the estate.” (Ambrose Bierce) It may well be that in the future, we will be able to make a perfectly valid will (“Last Will and Testament”) by way of a video recording or other electronic means, but that day has...
Why Your Marital Contract Really Matters
"Farewell! God knows when we shall meet again." (William Shakespeare) Marital contracts 101 There are various types of marital contracts, including: In community of property. This is the default position in South Africa. The couple share all their assets in a single...
How to Protect Your Children’s Inheritances from Ending Up in the Guardian’s Fund
“Live each day as if it were your last… because one day, you’ll be right.” (Benny Hill) It’s always tempting to procrastinate about decisions that force us to address the inevitability of our own mortality. But we have no choice when it comes to protecting our loved...
Should You Pay Off Your Home Loan?
Good reasons to pay off your home loan The most compelling reason to accelerate the payment of your home loan is the savings you’ll make on the interest component of the repayments. South African mortgage rates are currently high, with the average rate at...
A Good Budget Doesn’t Limit Spending, it Prioritises it
“Many folks think they aren’t good at earning money, when what they don’t know is how to use it.” (Frank A. Clark) If you have done any reading on budgeting, you have almost certainly come across the problem of the morning cappuccino. It’s that old piece of advice...
Renewal of the all pensioner rebates with City of Joburg
The City of Joburg has warned residents to expect higher-than-normal municipal bills this month due to the newly instituted rate and tax hikes. Additionally, all existing pensioner rebates lapsed on 30 June 2023 and require qualifying residents to re-apply to City of...
What’s Cooking with the Three-Pot System?
And now there are three If the draft bills are approved, from March 2024 members’ retirement funding will be split into three pots. Namely: The vested pot (amounts accumulated before 29 February 2024) The savings pot (the 1/3 of contributions that is accessible to...
Make Sure Your Family is Financially Prepared for When You Pass Away
“Death is the penalty we all pay for the privilege of life.” (Robert Half) We know we can’t escape death. But most of us still do everything we can to ignore or avoid it. The problem is that if we don’t acknowledge our own mortality, we won’t prepare for it. And,...
Leaving Anything Important Out of Your Property Sale Agreement Will Sink It
“No alienation of land … shall … be of any force or effect unless it is contained in a deed of alienation signed by the parties thereto or by their agents acting on their written authority.” (Alienation of Land Act) Ensure that all the important terms of your sale...