Why You Need a New Will After Your Spouse or Partner Has Passed Away
Isabel will turn ninety in November. She was married to Willem for sixty‑one years, who passed away in 2018. Like many couples of their generation, they signed a a joint will, believing it would protect both of them and make things easier for their children one day.
Isabel never imagined that the document they signed together decades ago would become a problem. Only recently, during a conversation with her financial advisor, she discovered that her joint will urgently needs to be replaced. And this is exactly where thousands of South Africans find themselves every year.
A joint will is simple while both partners are alive. It reflects shared wishes, shared values, shared plans. But the moment one partner falls away, the joint will becomes a legal and practical obstacle.
The practicalities of replacing a joint will
Most people don’t realise that a joint will becomes problematic the moment the first spouse passes away. Administering the second estate smoothly is often impossible without drafting a new, updated will.
The first complication arrives immediately after the first spouse’s death. The original joint will, not a copy, not a scanned version, but the original hand‑signed document, must be lodged with the Master of the High Court. Once it goes in, it rarely comes out again.
In the Executors Room at G&S, we see the same pattern continously. In the vast majority of cases, the original joint will is lost, misfiled, or buried somewhere in the Master’s archives under the first deceased’s estate. Years later, when the surviving partner passes away, the family discovers that the estate cannot be finalised without that original document. No original means no valid will, and no valid will means delays, costs, frustration and emotional strain at the worst possible time.
Your circumstances in life change.
Life also changes in ways no joint will can anticipate. Children grow up, grandchildren arrive, assets shift, properties are sold, new investments are made, and sometimes families experience conflict or unexpected estrangement.
We do trust nothing as dramatic as Leona Helmsley’s situation. This hotel billionaire, famously disinherited her daughters and left $12million to her dog! A dramatic example, but a reminder that relationships evolve. Executors named twenty years ago may have passed away or may no longer be appropriate. A will is not a once‑in‑a‑lifetime document. It should be revisited every year, because your life today is not the life you lived when you first signed that joint will.
Once one partner dies, the surviving partner is often bound to the original terms, even if those terms no longer make sense. This can restrict how you distribute your assets, how you provide for new dependants, how you structure your estate for tax efficiency, and how you protect your family’s future. A new will gives you back full control.
Afrikaans a dying phenomena at the Master
Another growing challenge is language. Many older joint wills were drafted in Afrikaans, but the Master’s Office is increasingly struggling to process Afrikaans documents efficiently. Even when they do manage, delays are almost guaranteed. An English will is simply faster, clearer and easier for the system to work with.
Estate laws and tax regulations change
A joint will drafted fifteen or twenty years ago may create unnecessary estate duty, fail to protect minor children correctly, cause delays in property transfers, or conflict with updated legislation. A fresh will ensures your estate is structured according to current law, not outdated rules.
Your live did not end when your spouse passed away
And then there is the human side. After losing a spouse, people often rethink everything. Who they want to inherit, how they want to support children or grandchildren, which charities matter to them, and what legacy they want to leave behind. Your will should reflect your life today, not the life you shared years ago. Even though you miss the partner that you shared your life with, your life continues and you should too.
The truth is simple: a joint will is only suitable while both partners are alive. Once one partner passes away, the surviving spouse should always draft a new, updated will. It protects your estate. It protects your family. And it protects your legacy.
September is Wills Month.
G&S will review your will free of charge throughout September to ensure your current document is still valid, appropriate and aligned with your life today. Give us a call today. We are here to ensure your legacy continues.