Despite the importance of having a valid will made public and an offer of free services in the drafting thereof made by Legal Aid South Africa (Legal Aid SA) to the public, only an estimated 141 people have pitched thus far. The legal body assisted these persons across the Free State during National Will Week, celebrated from 11 to 15 September.
The body is continuing to offer the service to interested members of the public until the end of September.
Sekonyela Moeketsi, spokesperson of Legal Aid SA, has confirmed this, adding that those interested are assisted to draft a valid will by an attorney. He encouraged people to make use of this service at the nearest branches of the organisation.
Moeketsi emphasised the significance of a valid will and its advantages in safeguarding the wish of the deceased person’s generational wealth, inheritance, and preventing disputes.
“The challenge noted is that some people do not have sufficient assets to distribute in case of death, and thus they feel it is not important to have a will.
“The problem with this approach, however, is that once the parents die, the surviving children are left destitute, without guardians and their rights are not safeguarded. This leads to family feuds due to uncertainty over who must take care of or inherit the assets.
“In the case of minor children, there will be family members who take advantage of the assets and squander whatever wealth is left,” Moeketsi explained.
He said people who sought assistance indicated their assets were below R250 000 in value, excluding those who have livestock. Others have assets with a value exceeding the amount mentioned.
Moeketsi said where no valid will is in place, the problems noted also affects spouses.
“Spouses, at times, are harassed by the relatives or families of the deceased spouses. In other circumstances where there are houses or properties, you will find relatives occupying the house of children, even treating it as theirs.
“They are renting out houses for their own benefit instead of the children’s. When these children grow up, they now start to apply for evictions of unlawful occupiers, which is usually a lengthy process,” Moeketsi elaborated.
Those interested in assistance with the drafting of a valid will, can visit legal-aid.co.za or call the Legal Aid SA advice line on 0800-110-110 or send a “Please Call Me” to 079-835-7179.
