To ease the stressful and confusing nature of creating a Last Will and Testament, De Wet du Plessis Attorneys has introduced an online legal platform.
Dubbed MyWill, the new platform is the brainchild of attorney Matthew De Wet and allows anyone to create a valid Will at a once-off fee of R199 for a single Will, or pay R250 once-off for a joint Will.
According to a statement, MyWill reimagines the way people think about the legal process behind a Will by simplifying and automating a process that attorneys study years to perfect.
“MyWill was created to ensure no family is left fighting complicated legal battles after losing a loved one,” says De Wet.
South African law says if a person dies without a Will then their estate will be divided between family members and no consideration will be given to any of the person’s wishes, including the guardianship and inheritance of minor children, the appointment of an executor, or the future of any assets and businesses that are co-owned.
“Addressing these factors on MyWill not only protects your family from unforeseen emotional strain, but will ensure they have a stable income and place to live in the months following your passing,” says the attorney.
To build MyWill, the legal team at De Wet du Plessis Attorneys applied their technical skill and ethical expertise, creating a practical way to make legal advice accessible to everyone who needs it.
A user of MyWill can create a legally sound and binding Will in a matter of minutes, says the statement.
“The MyWill software guides users easily through the legalese involved in the process of translating personal wishes into a Will. If at any point you do not understand a term or phrase used, the platform allows users to hover their cursors over the question mark tool and get a full, yet simple, explanation.
“With MyWill, the many unforeseen consequences of dying without a Will are all taken care of, including the guardianship and inheritance of minor children, the continuation of any family business, the listing and fair division of assets, the appointment of an executor, who the balance of the estate goes to, and specific funeral directions.
“Once the Will has been properly signed, according to specific rules that the platform outlines, you are left with a legally-binding document.”
Furthermore, if a user can’t print the Will or have it witnessed as required by law due to COVID-19 lockdown conditions, De Wet du Plessis Attorneys will send the lockdown instructions guiding the user on how to validly and lawfully execute the Will.
“These instructions will accompany your Will built on their platform. The platform encourages you to stipulate any previous Wills you may have had that are no longer valid and offers important advice, such as telling your executor what your wishes are, as well as where your Will and relevant documents are being kept.
“MyWill allows you to update your Will without costly trips to the lawyer’s office. This is useful since you should update your will upon the death of anyone named in your Will, illness of anyone in your Will, changes to the relationship status of parties named in a joint Will, the birth of new family members, the inclusion of new family members and the sale of any assets named in your Will, or upon material changes in assets in your estate.”
For more information on MyWill, click here.
Share