Estate planning attorney

An estate planning attorney is an admitted attorney who drafts and structures the instruments governing what happens to your assets during your lifetime and on your death — wills, trusts (inter vivos and testamentary), deeds of donation and powers of attorney — and plans around the resulting estate duty under the Estate Duty Act 45 of 1955, capital gains exposure and the administration costs falling on the surviving estate. Burger Huyser Attorneys runs this work through a dedicated Wills & Estates practice at its head office, 49 First Avenue, Linden, Randburg, 2195 (011 888 0246), and through its Gauteng branches in Sandton, Roodepoort, Centurion, Pretoria (Menlyn), Bedfordview, Alberton and Midrand. Engagement begins with a consultation covering your assets, matrimonial property regime, family structure, existing wills or trusts and business interests, after which the firm drafts or reviews the instruments and, where instructed, handles the Master of the High Court filings and SARS submissions.

What “Estate Planning” Actually Covers

Estate planning is not a single document but a coordinated set of instruments that keeps assets protected, family provision intact and tax exposure contained.

Instrument	What it does
Wills	The testamentary document under the Wills Act 7 of 1953. The testator signs the last page before two or more competent witnesses, who sign in the presence of the testator and each other.
Trusts	Inter vivos (created in your lifetime) or testamentary (created by your will), under the Trust Property Control Act 57 of 1988.
Deeds of donation	Lifetime transfers that reshape the estate. They attract donations tax, so timing and recipient matter as much as amount.
Powers of attorney	Ordinary and special powers governing how another person may act for you in financial or property matters.
Guardianship nominations and advance directives	Instructions taking effect on incapacity, including nominating a guardian or tutor for minor children.
Liquidation and distribution accounts	Prepared where the firm is instructed as winding-up attorney on a deceased estate.

Burger Huyser’s Wills & Estates practice covers the full span, so a client who asks for “a will” is not turned away when the file turns out to need a trust or an executor appointment too.

The Statutory Framework an Estate Planning Attorney Works Inside

Instrument	Key statute	Practical effect
Wills	Wills Act 7 of 1953	A witness must be 14 or older and competent to give evidence; neither a witness nor the nominated executor (nor their spouses) may inherit under a will they witness or write.
Trusts	Trust Property Control Act 57 of 1988	An inter vivos trust registers with the Master in whose area the greatest portion of trust assets sits. No trustee may act without the Master’s written authority.
Deceased estates	Administration of Estates Act 66 of 1965	Death notice to the Master within 14 days; the liquidation and distribution account must be lodged within six months of letters of executorship (s 35(1)) and lie open for inspection for at least 21 days (s 35(4)).
Estate duty	Estate Duty Act 45 of 1955	SARS currently levies 20% on the first R30 million of dutiable value and 25% above, after the s 4A abatement of R3.5 million. Section 4(q) allows a deduction for property accruing to a surviving spouse.
Lifetime donations	Income Tax Act 58 of 1962 (ss 54–64)	Donations tax follows the same 20%/25% split. Natural persons have a R150,000 annual exemption (s 56(2)(b)); donations between spouses are exempt.
Intestate succession	Intestate Succession Act 81 of 1987	Applies only where there is no valid will. A surviving spouse takes the greater of R250,000 or a child’s share, with descendants taking the balance.
Maintenance claims	Maintenance of Surviving Spouses Act 27 of 1990; Children’s Act 38 of 2005	A surviving spouse may claim reasonable maintenance from the estate where they cannot meet it from their own means, and dependent children keep their claims — both bind the estate whatever the will says.

Typical Work: Where the Attorney Adds Value

• Will drafting and review — drafting to fit your current family structure and asset mix, and curing formal defects that would invalidate a provision. One trap catches people repeatedly: a bequest to a divorced spouse is treated as revoked only if the testator dies within three months of the divorce. Survive that window without updating the will and the former spouse inherits as drafted.
• Trust formation and trustee appointment — drafting the deed and lodging it with the correct Master’s Office with the application (J401), acceptance of trusteeship (J417), beneficiary declaration (J450) and, if required, a bond of security. Assets must not move into the trust before letters of authority issue, because until then the trustees have no power to act.
• Estate duty and donations tax planning — modelling the estate against current thresholds, using the s 4(q) spousal deduction and the annual donations tax exemption deliberately rather than incidentally, and timing trusts or policies to manage the dutiable estate.
• Powers of attorney — preparing ordinary and special powers for property and financial transactions, with clear advice on what a power of attorney can and cannot survive.
• Deceased estate administration — reporting the estate, obtaining authority, preparing the inventory and account, and carrying the file through the Master’s sign-off alongside the executor, supported by the firm’s dedicated Deceased Estate Administrator, Lance Pearson.

When You Actually Need an Estate Planning Attorney

• You own property, a business or investments in your sole name and have no will, or one that is out of date.
• You are married in community of property, have an antenuptial contract, or are in a civil union — the matrimonial property regime changes how the estate is composed and how the will must be drafted.
• You have minor children, dependants with special needs, or a spouse from a prior marriage, and want to nominate a guardian or tutor.
• You run a family business and want to plan succession across generations, including shareholding implications.
• You have a foreign element — offshore property, or a foreign-domiciled spouse or children — where South African estate duty, foreign domiciliary tax and civil-law forced-heirship rules interact.
• You have been widowed or divorced, or a beneficiary named in your will has died.
• You want to establish a trust, vary an existing deed, or cancel a trust that no longer serves its purpose.

Each is a point at which a generic template stops being adequate; Burger Huyser’s Wills & Estates practice and its separate Trusts practice are set up for exactly these files.

Choosing an Estate Planning Attorney: What to Look For

• Wills and estates depth, not general practice. The work spans Master’s Office procedure, SARS submissions, trust registration and cross-border tax — a dedicated department, not an occasional practitioner.
• Demonstrated Master of the High Court filing experience. Letters of executorship, trust registration and the account are Master-side workstreams, and files run without that exposure routinely stall.
• A clear explanation of who does what, set out before you sign anything.
• A direct, up-front cost conversation. A per-instrument quote after the first consultation beats a flat “estate planning package” that hides what is in and out of scope.
• A commitment to continuing review, every three to five years or on a material life event.

Role	Appointed by	Responsible for
Estate planning attorney	You	Drafting and advising on the instruments
Executor	The Master of the High Court	Administering the deceased estate and accounting to the Master
Trustee	The trust deed or will, authorised by the Master	Administering trust assets for the beneficiaries

Against those criteria, Burger Huyser Attorneys runs a standalone Wills & Estates practice with a dedicated Deceased Estate Administrator, and Director Anna-Mi Nel — Head of the Family Law Department and Co-Director of the Sandton branch — is identified by the firm as specialising in deceased estates alongside High Court litigation.

Practical Considerations: Cost, Timeline and What to Bring

Consideration	Practical position
Cost	Driven by the instruments drafted and the estate’s complexity. A straightforward will review sits at the lower end; a plan adding a new trust, will and powers of attorney at the upper end. Burger Huyser quotes per file after the initial needs assessment rather than publishing a fixed figure.
Will drafting	Typically a few weeks from first consultation to signed and witnessed execution.
Trust formation	Longer, because the deed must be lodged with the Master and the trustees authorised before the trust can act.
Deceased estate	Commonly six to eighteen months from reporting to final distribution — the six-month account deadline and the 21-day inspection period alone account for much of that.

Bring the following to the first consultation:

• Your identity document, and any existing will or codicil;
• A list of major assets with approximate values;
• Your matrimonial property regime — in community of property, or out of community with or without accrual — and the antenuptial contract if there is one;
• Names and ages of dependants;
• Details of any existing trust; and
• Any prior correspondence with the Master of the High Court or SARS.

How It Fits With Burger Huyser’s Wider Practice

Estate planning rarely sits in isolation, and the Wills & Estates department draws on the rest of the firm: Family Law on the matrimonial property regime and the divorce or custody implications of how a will is worded; Trusts on trust formation, variation and cancellation; and Litigation (General & Commercial) where a will or trust produces a dispute, a contested estate claim or a curatorship application. Deceased estate administration is led by the same team, with dedicated support from Deceased Estate Administrator Lance Pearson.

If you want to put a proper estate plan in place — wills, trusts, powers of attorney, or a review of what is already there — contact Burger Huyser Attorneys’ Wills & Estates practice at the Linden head office on 011 888 0246 (mobile 061 516 6878), or visit 49 First Avenue, Linden, Randburg, 2195, between 7:30am and 4:30pm on weekdays. The same team is available at the firm’s Gauteng branches in Sandton (011 253 3080), Roodepoort (011 668 0030), Centurion (012 644 4990), Pretoria Menlyn (012 471 5700), Bedfordview (011 201 7190), Alberton (011 439 3990) and Midrand (010 022 4082). Burger Huyser carries a 4.8/5 average across 250+ Google reviews (Trustindex verified, “Top Rated Law Firm in South Africa”) and was named Best Family Law Firm 2024 – South Africa at the Lawyers Monthly Legal Awards. Bring your ID, any existing will, a list of major assets, and details of your matrimonial property regime and dependants to the first meeting.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does an estate planning attorney actually do?

An estate planning attorney drafts the instruments governing what happens to your assets during life and on death — your will, inter vivos or testamentary trusts, deeds of donation, powers of attorney and advance directives — and structures them to manage estate duty, capital gains exposure and the administration costs falling on the surviving estate. Burger Huyser Attorneys offers this through its dedicated Wills & Estates practice.

Do I need a will if I don’t have many assets?

Yes. Under the Intestate Succession Act 81 of 1987, dying without a valid will means your estate devolves on your spouse, descendants and other relatives in a fixed statutory order that often does not match what you would have chosen, and leaves an unmarried partner or step-child with no automatic claim. A will also lets you nominate a guardian for minor children and names your executor.

Is a trust necessary, or is a will enough?

It depends on the asset mix and the goal. A trust offers asset protection, control over when beneficiaries receive capital, and potential estate duty advantages, but carries Master of the High Court registration, ongoing trustee duties and SARS compliance. A will alone suffices for straightforward estates; a trust is typically warranted for high-value estates, family businesses, blended families, or where staggered beneficiary access matters.

How much does estate planning cost in South Africa?

It depends on the instruments drafted and the estate’s complexity. A simple will review sits at the lower end; a plan adding a new trust, will and powers of attorney at the upper end. Burger Huyser Attorneys (011 888 0246) quotes per file after the initial consultation at the Linden head office or any Gauteng branch, rather than giving a vague pre-engagement estimate.

Where is the Master of the High Court that will handle my estate?

Gauteng has two Master’s Offices, Johannesburg and Pretoria. For a deceased estate, the relevant office is the one in whose area the deceased was living in the 12 months before death. For an inter vivos trust, it is the office in whose area the greatest portion of the trust assets sits. Burger Huyser’s Wills & Estates practice files in both.

What is the difference between an estate planning attorney and an executor?

An estate planning attorney drafts the instruments determining how your assets pass. An executor is appointed by the Master of the High Court to administer the estate after your death: lodging the inventory and liquidation and distribution account, settling debts and estate duty, and distributing to heirs. Burger Huyser Attorneys drafts the instruments and can act on the executor’s instructions, or leave the executor role with a separate fiduciary practitioner where the client prefers that separation.

How often should I review my will?

Every three to five years as a working rule, and immediately after a material life event: marriage, divorce, the birth of a child, the death of a beneficiary, the sale of a business, or relocation to or from another country. Divorce is the sharpest example, because a bequest to a former spouse is only treated as revoked if the testator dies within three months of the divorce.