All the powers of a trustee are ‘fiduciary’, which means that they must be exercised as follows:

• in the best interests of all the beneficiaries;
• only for the benefit of the beneficiaries and not for third parties;
• not for the trustees’ benefit, unless specifically authorised; and
• not to defeat the terms of the trust, but in compliance with them and in consideration of all other relevant circumstances.

DUTIES

A trustee owes a duty of honesty, integrity, loyalty and good faith to the beneficiaries of the trust. A trustee must at all times act exclusively in the best interests of the trust and be actively involved in any decisions. Prior to accepting the position of trustee, a potential trustee must ensure that:

• there is no conflict of interest between his or her own personal circumstances and those of the beneficiaries;
• they have read and understood the trust deed;
• they understand the nature of the beneficial interests and as much about the beneficiary’s personal circumstances as will be necessary to administer the trust;
• they are satisfied there are no outstanding breaches of trust by the existing trustees; and
• they have determined the extent of the trust property and will ensure that, once appointed, it is vested in the names of the new trustees.

GENERAL DUTIES OF A TRUSTEE:

• To always act in good faith and jointly – the common law rule is that the trustees must always act jointly in a transaction with third parties and contractual powers must be exercised by all the trustees acting together.
• To observe the trust deed – trustees must inform themselves of the terms of the trust deed and comply strictly with the duties and directions set out in therein.
• To take possession of the trust property – the trustee needs to take charge of the trust property and he must, as soon as possible, acquaint himself with the nature and extent of thereof and take possession of the property so that it comes under his/her control.
• To act independently between the beneficiaries – trustees must not allow one beneficiary to suffer at the expense of another and must balance potentially competing interests for income and capital.
• To provide information – trustees are under a duty to provide clear and accurate accounts and produce any information or other documents relating to the trust when required to do so by a beneficiary.
• To act unanimously.
• To exercise reasonable care and ensure the correct distribution of assets.
• To provide an income for the beneficiaries and to preserve the value of the capital.

POWERS

The precise powers that a trustee has will be defined by the trust deed and by law. However, a trustee will normally be given the following powers:

• investment;
• dealing with land;
• delegation to agents, nominees and custodians;
• insurance;
• remuneration for professional trustees;
• advancement of capital;
• maintenance of minor beneficiaries; and
• to pay, transfer or lend funds to beneficiaries.

This article is a general information sheet and should not be used or relied on as legal or other professional advice. No liability can be accepted for any errors or omissions nor for any loss or damage arising from reliance upon any information herein. Always contact your legal adviser for specific and detailed advice. Errors and omissions excepted (E&OE)

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Below is a basic example of the effect an intestate death will have on the distribution of an estate. Should the composition of the beneficiaries of the deceased be more complex, the administering of the estate in terms of the Intestate Succession Act will also become more complicated.

Let us assume that person A dies and the value of his estate is R1.8 million. He is survived by his wife (B) and 2 children, of which one is of age and the other is a minor.

Scenario 1:

A and B is married out of community of property.

B inherits R125 000 or a child’s portion, whichever is the largest.

A child’s portion is calculated by dividing the total value of the estate by the spouse and number of children, in other words R1.8 million/3 = R600 000.

The spouse and children therefore inherits R600 000 each.

The inheritance of the minor will be paid to the Master’s Guardian’s Fund, as there is no will which determines that the minor heir’s inheritance should be placed in e.g. a Testamentary Trust, where the funds will be administrated on behalf of the minor until he/she becomes of age or reaches any other specified age.

Scenario 2:

A and B is married in community of property.

B inherits 50% of the estate due to the marriage in community of property.

B also inherits R125 000 or a child’s portion, whichever is the largest, with regard to the other half of the estate.

A child’s portion is calculated by dividing half of the total value of the estate by the spouse and number of children, in other words R900 000/3 = R300 000.

The spouse inherits R1.2 million and the children R300 000 each.

The inheritance of the minor will be paid to the Master’s Guardian’s Fund, as there is no will which determines that the minor heir’s inheritance should be placed in e.g. a Testamentary Trust, where the funds will be administrated on behalf of the minor until he/she becomes of age or reaches any other specified age. It is therefore clear that Intestate inheritance may result in an unpractical and often even impracticable division of assets.

The fact that the inheritance of the minor will be paid to the Master’s Guardian’s Fund may place the spouse in such a dilemma that she has to devise plans to finance the amount payable to the Master’s Guardian’s Fund to the benefit of the minor heir. Alternatively she could register a mortgage against an immovable property in favour of the Master’s Guardian’s Fund.

In case of death without a valid will there will of course be no person or institution appointed to support the surviving spouse in the administering of the estate. This should not usually present a huge obstacle, but the spouse should consider carefully which person or institution she appoints to assist her in this task. She should also negotiate the Executor’s fee with the relevant person or institution before the administering of the estate commences.

This article is a general information sheet and should not be used or relied on as legal or other professional advice. No liability can be accepted for any errors or omissions nor for any loss or damage arising from reliance upon any information herein. Always contact your legal adviser for specific and detailed advice. Errors and omissions excepted (E&OE).

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The advantage of a trust is firstly, that inter vivos trusts can be used to minimise estate duty. No estate duty should be payable on assets owned by the Trust as a Trust does not terminate or come to an end, since it has perpetual succession. Estate duty is currently taxed at 20% of the gross estate value. This saving in estate duty can be substantially large, especially for high net worth individuals who are worth millions of rands. Secondly, as the Trust’s assets are not owned by the beneficiaries, the creditors of the beneficiaries do not have a claim regarding the assets of the Trust. This advantage is especially important for people who are exposed to potential liability. Companies as well as individuals are able to transfer assets to Trusts. Lastly, because Trusts have perpetual succession, beneficiaries will be able to continue enjoying the benefit of the Trust assets even if one of the Trustees were to pass away.

The disadvantages are firstly, the costs of setting up a Trust, which can be high. It may cost up to R 20 000 to set up a Trust. If immovable property is transferred to the Trust then transfer duty needs to be paid. The founders of the Trust may also be liable to pay Donations tax, which is taxable at 20% of the value of the assets transferred to the Trust. Transfer duty is taxed according to a sliding scale. Secondly, Trustees could find themselves personally liable for losses suffered by the Trust if it can be proven that they did not act with care, diligence and skill in terms of section 9 of the Trust Property Control Act. It is important to note that “skill” requires more than just acting in good faith. Trustees may be proven to be negligent not only if they invested in risky investments, but also if they invested capital too conservatively, causing the capital not to grow sufficiently. Trustees also need to be aware of the fact that they can still be held liable if only one Trustee has signing power on behalf of the Trust and he/she makes a poor decision that holds all the Trustees liable for his negligence.

The founder of the Trust needs to recognise that the assets in the Trust do not belong to him/her anymore. The assets belong to the Trust. Should this loss of control (from founder to Trust) not occur, the Trust may be seen as an alter ego of the founder, which could result in the assets being included in creditors’ claims as well as having estate duty consequences.

The earnings from the assets in the Trust are taxed at 40%, and interest exemptions do not apply to Trusts. Also, the inclusion rate for Capital Gains tax for an inter vivos trust is 66.6% whereas the inclusion rate for individuals is 33.3%. Lastly, as we can see from the above, a Trust is not for everyone.

It is important to weigh up the advantages and disadvantages before deciding whether to go ahead or not. The best decision would be to speak to a certified financial planner or attorney who can assist you in making the correct decision regarding your personal situation.

This article is a general information sheet and should not be used or relied on as legal or other professional advice. No liability can be accepted for any errors or omissions nor for any loss or damage arising from reliance upon any information herein. Always contact your legal adviser for specific and detailed advice. Errors and omissions excepted (E&OE)

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