JC Executors TRUST

WILLS
A will is a legal instruction by the deceased during his life to the surviving on what should be done after his death. This includes but it’s not limited to how and where one wants to be buried, guardianship of the minor children ( if they are any ), nominating the beneficiaries of the deceased’s estate as well as the distribution of the estate.
A will can be written or verbal. (However a verbal Will has challenges .It will need someone to support what the deceased said if they is a conflict. A verbal Will is only valid if the property does not exceed a certain amount determined from time to time and given our current hyperinflation environment ,a verbal Will may not serve the purposes generally expected of a Will, hence a Will in this context is only a written Will.

There are numerous problems which beneficiaries of the deceased are likely face following the death of the bread winner. Conflicts arise over the deceased’s property. At times even about where, when and how the deceased will be buried .It does not matter whether the deceased was married or single, rich or poor, conflicts are likely to occur and do arise over the property of the deceased and most shocking is at times involving those who may be well off fighting over what may seem priceless.
A Will, if properly drafted by a professional will be able to protect the deceased’s wishes and beneficiaries as it a legal document which has to be followed to the word. In a will the writer selects who manages and distributes the possessions of the deceased, who should benefit from the deceased’s estate and also protects the beneficiaries from estate grabbing. A will makes it possible and easy for anyone to benefit from our estate, whether they are related to the deceased rather than depending on the ‘understanding’ of the beneficiaries .The presence of a Will reduces conflicts thereby making sure that there are no unnecessary legal costs borne by the estate. The absence of conflicts in deceased estate simplifies and speeds up the process of estate administration as result the beneficiaries may not feel the economic problems associated with the death of a bread winner. Most of the people who dread to administer deceased estate are afraid to do so because of what others may have gone through due to the absence of a Will.
I encourage everyone to seek professional assistance and write a Will ,so that we protect our beneficiaries

General law inheritance is governed by general law.General law is the law which came with the Europeans as they colonised Zimbabwe .General law is created through acts of parliament and decisions of the superior courts .

General law inheritance applies to non Africans ,if the deceased left a Will (which has been accepted by the Master of high court as a valid will ) and to Africans married in terms of the Civil law at the time of their death ( If the deceased was singlethe court will make an inquiry into the deceased's way of life to determine if general or customary law should be applied.The type of the marriage of the parents of a person who dies while single will also help to determine which law applies }

Succesion can be in terms of customary or general law.

Customary law is the law of Africans ,its not written down governs a particular clan ,it has been passed from one generation to another through practices and its custodians are the village head,Headmen and Chiefs.
in determining if Customary law inheritance applies in an estate an investigation into deceased's way of life has to be done.If the person who died had a customary marriage( if deceased was single but his /her parents had a customary marriage ) or if deceased died without a Will,lived a traditional way of life the assumption is that his estate will be administered using customary laws of inheritance.

Succession is taking over the deceased's property .There are two types of succession.Testate succession ,this is when one takes over /inherits the property of the deceased through a will.The deceased decides during his life by writing a Will who inherits his property whether they are related or not. .Intestate succsession is when one inherits when there is no Will guidedby the laws which provide for people who die without Wills

Executor is the person responsible with the administration of a deceased estate .If the person is a female she is referred to as the executrix.There are two types of executors .There is an executor/executrix dative This is an executor nominated by the deceased's relatives and appointed by the master of High Court through an edict meeting attended by the relatives ,beneficiaries or and creditors to administer a decaesed estate.The executor /Executrix testemantry is a person nominated by the deceased through a will to administer a deceased estate.