By Sinothile Zondi, Durban intern
National Wills Week 2019 ran from 16 to 20 September. Everyone wishes for their assets to be distributed to their preferred loved ones when they pass. To achieve this however, one needs to draft a valid Will, which will ensure that everything that remains of one’s assets after all debts and administration costs have been subtracted will be inherited by one’s preferred heirs. To assist clients in ensuring that they have a valid Will, the Durban office of ProBono.Org ran Wills help desks at various venues in Durban during the month of September.
The main function of the Master of the High Court’s office is to supervise the administration of deceased estates. In this regard, ProBono. Org Durban worked closely with the Office of the Master of the High Court, as well as numerous pro bono private attorneys, in providing elderly members of the community who attended our Wills Week help desks with the required legal services to draft or update their Wills. This ensures that their wishes are followed after their passing. From 16 to 20 September we held a daily Wills help desk at the Office of the Master of the High Court, Durban. We also held a Wills help desk at the Wentworth Organisation of Women (WOW) on 16 September.
Lastly, from 25 to 27 September we held a Wills help desk at the Nelson Mandela Chatsworth Youth Centre. In addition to the help desks, we held seminars at the KZN Deaf Association, in Montclair and at the KZN Blind and Deaf Society to educate the community about the importance and benefits of having a Will and what would happen if one passed away without having a valid Will in place. Through these initiatives we successfully assisted a number of clients with drafting Wills and providing information to those who needed it. In total we drafted 155 wills during the week.
The Johannesburg office also took part in Wills Week at various courts in conjunction with the Department of Justice, providing information on wills and inviting people to have their wills drafted by pro bono attorneys.
