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Probate is the process by which the Executors apply to the Courts to have charge of the administration of the Estate of the person who has died. If someone has a Will made he/she is said to die Testate. Someone who has no Will made is said to die Intestate. Contrary to a misperception which seems to exist not to have a Will made does not mean that your Estate goes to the State. The advantage of making a Will is that you decide who benefits from your worldly goods. The provisions of the Succession Act stipulate the requirement for a Will to be valid. However it is important to note the provisions of the Legal Right Share should be borne in mind when making a Will. What that means is that a spouse has an automatic entitlement to a certain share of the Estate. To exclude a spouse from a Will could mean that it could be challenged and the chances are that the entire Estate would be frittered away in legal costs. |
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The children of a parent maybe in a position to contest the Will if the provisions of Section 117 of the Succession Act apply. What that is is that proper provision has not been made for that child in light of the circumstances of his/her parents e.g. the wayward son of a billionaire who did not receive the same chances in life for an education could challenge that parent's Will if his siblings received greater opportunities in life. This is an intresting point as sometimes a child may have no interest in school and chooses to opt out himself. A generation later when he sees the opportunity.