TRUSTS USEFUL ON DEATH AND DIVORCE

A trust is a useful tool in a divorce settlement, whereby the settlement can be transferred into a trust and be applied for the benefit of typically minor children and a spouse, says Phia van der Spuy of Trusteeze. Similarly, one can ring-fence a maintenance obligation post-death in a trust. When you are divorced, the Divorce Act – and not the Maintenance of the Surviving Spouses Act – applies, whereby maintenance does not extend beyond the death of the maintenance payer, unless the divorce order states that it applies.