International Estate Planning
Presenters : Hugo van Zyl , Mathys Briers-Louw
Overview
The webinar examined international estate planning from a South African perspective. It began with the South African tax framework on death: estate duty, the capital gains tax consequences of death, donations tax, the relevant deductions and abatements, and the relief available where more than one country taxes the same estate. It also covered the legislative and regulatory changes since November 2025, including the increased exchange control allowances, the Budget 2026 adjustments, Draft TLAB 2026 and the Western Cape High Court decision on the lex domicilii matrimonii rule.
The session then turned to the practical cross-border issues that most often cause difficulty: exchange control, transferring inheritances to resident and non-resident heirs, foreign assets, the interaction between wills in different countries, matrimonial property regimes and forced heirship. The United States, Germany, Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates, together with recent changes in the United Kingdom, illustrated how differently countries approach domicile, residence, situs, succession and tax. Case studies drew the rules together and gave practitioners a practical framework for advising clients.
Webinar Content
- Recent changes affecting cross-border estates, including exchange control allowances, Budget 2026 thresholds, Draft TLAB 2026 and the N.P. matrimonial property judgment
- The South African estate duty framework, including property, deemed property, deductions and the section 4A abatement
- Ordinary residence, domicile and situs, and why the connecting factor matters
- Capital gains tax at death under the Income Tax Act, including the treatment of assets left to a surviving spouse
- Donations tax, section 7C and other taxes that can affect estate-planning structures
- Estate duty agreements and relief from double taxation
- Exchange control requirements where foreign or local inheritances are receivable by South African residents or non-residents
- Foreign inheritances, offshore assets and the documents banks and Authorised Dealers are likely to require
- International comparisons involving the United States, Germany, Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates, with a note on the United Kingdom
- Cross-border wills, formal validity, forced-heirship rules and the risk of conflicting wills
- Matrimonial property regimes, executor appointments, liquidity and digital assets
- Worked examples, case studies and a practical international estate-planning checklist
Competencies Developed
After completing the webinar, practitioners should be able to:
- identify the main South African estate duty and capital gains tax consequences that arise on death;
- distinguish between residence, ordinary residence, domicile and situs, and apply the correct concept to the issue being considered;
- recognise when a foreign asset or foreign heir creates an additional tax, succession or exchange control problem;
- determine the likely documentary and regulatory route for paying an inheritance into or out of South Africa;
- compare the broad succession and inheritance-tax rules of the United States, Germany, Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates;
- identify conflicts between wills, forced-heirship rules and matrimonial property regimes before they disrupt the administration of an estate;
- assess whether the estate has sufficient liquidity and whether the executor can obtain control of foreign and digital assets; and
- use a structured checklist to gather the facts, identify the right advisers and develop a workable cross-border estate plan.
Related Webinars
Understanding Interest and Forex in Tax: Sections 24I, 24J, and 25D in Practice