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ESTATE PLANNING FOR ’CRYPTONIANS’ If you’ve accumulated crypto assets, it goes without saying that you must explain how you want them to be distributed in your Will. Kyle Abrahams sheds some much-needed light on a little-discussed issue. By KYLE ABRAHAMS IN RECENT years, the global market has opened itself up to a whole new idea of trade … a cashless society! Cryptocurrencies (crypto for short) are intangible digital assets that are not issued by a central authority. As an unregulated currency, crypto is controlled by the developers themselves. These days, crypto can quite easily be converted into cash. Since 2009, crypto has soared in popularity, with the likes of Ethereum and the most popular of them all, Bitcoin, becoming household names. Statistics show that there are 200 million crypto users globally and 18 000 businesses (and counting) that accept cryptocurrency payments.
For the millennials and festivalgoers out there, Howler is an example of a business that has gone completely cashless. With 4.2 million crypto owners, South Africa ranks in the Top 10 “crypto nations” in the world. CRYPTO AND YOUR WILL Being an intangible asset, crypto is seen as property in terms of the Estate Duty Act and estate duty is therefore applicable on the value of the asset at the date of death. That said, the value of your digital wallet must be taken into account when planning your estate. If you have accumulated crypto assets, it follows that you should include them in your will. Here, I strongly recommend a
two-pronged approach: 1. Include a clause in your will detailing how you want your crypto assets to be distributed. 2. Create a separate letter of directions to a nominated beneficiary and/or the executor of your estate which explains where and how to access your crypto assets. Step 1: The clause in your will As always when drafting a will, it is highly recommended that you seek the services of a professional. The clause can follow the same format as the rest of your will: you simply have to detail who should inherit your crypto assets and in what ratio. As crypto is a recent phenomenon, I would strongly
