The short answer

Every policy and account passes to your family in one of three ways: by a beneficiary nomination, through a trust, or through your estate and will. Nominate beneficiaries on life policies so they're paid directly, outside the estate and its fees. Keep retirement-fund nominations current — trustees must consider all your dependants under section 37C, but your nomination guides them. Check who the policyholder, life assured and beneficiaries are on any offshore bond. Make a Thai will for Thai assets, because Thai banks act only on a Thai court order. Use trusts for young children — otherwise their money may end up in the Guardian's Fund. Think about currency, and review everything after every major life change. Lawrence will check it all, free.

Why beneficiaries go wrong for South Africans abroad

Beneficiary mistakes rarely come from bad decisions. They come from forms filled in once and forgotten while life moved on — and for South Africans abroad, life moves on more than most. Emigrating, a new relationship, children born in Thailand, a business, a condo: each one changes who should benefit and how.

The good news is that almost all of these are easy to fix while you are alive and well — and impossible to fix afterwards. A beneficiary review takes a few hours of paperwork and can save your family months of delay and hundreds of thousands of rand.

How each policy and account passes on

The usual route for each type of asset — and what you need to check.

A general guide — every policy and fund has its own rules. Lawrence will check yours in a free review.

Life insurance: why the nomination matters

Life insurance exists to put money in your family's hands when they need it most. Whether that happens in weeks or months depends largely on one decision: whether the policy names a beneficiary — or is held in a trust.

Without a nominated beneficiary

A South African life policy with no beneficiary usually pays into your estate. That means your family waits for the Master to appoint an executor and for the estate to be wound up — often a year or more — and the payout counts towards the executor's fee of up to 3.5% plus VAT. Who receives it then depends on your will or, if there's no will, intestate succession. On a R5 million payout, the fee alone could be about R201,000.

With a nominated beneficiary

The insurer pays the person you named directly, outside the estate for administration, usually within weeks. Note that a nomination doesn't remove estate duty: life policy payouts are generally still counted in your estate for estate duty, unless the money goes to a surviving spouse, which is deductible — even if your spouse isn't South African resident. Check how your own policies would be treated.

Trusts for international policies

Many international life policies can be written in trust, often free with the insurer's own forms. Trustees then receive the payout and manage it for your chosen beneficiaries — especially useful for young children, blended families and beneficiaries in several countries. Once a policy is in trust, it generally can't simply be taken back out, so get the type right at the start.

Choosing trustees

Pick trustees you trust who can act quickly — often your partner plus one or two others. Think about where they live: someone in South Africa may find it easier to deal with a South African insurer, while someone in Thailand is closer to the family. One in each country can work well.

Our guide to international life insurance for South African families explains how to choose the cover itself.

Retirement funds: section 37C and your nomination

For many South Africans abroad, retirement funds are the largest asset they own — and the ones with the most misunderstood beneficiary rules. Death benefits from a pension fund, provident fund, preservation fund or retirement annuity don't pass under your will.

Trustees decide — your nomination guides them

Under section 37C of the Pension Funds Act, the fund's trustees must identify everyone who was financially dependent on you — a spouse, children, a life partner, sometimes parents or others you supported — and decide a fair split between them and the people you nominated. Your nomination isn't binding, but it's an important guide. If your form is twenty years old and names someone you'd no longer choose, the trustees have to weigh it against your current family — and your family may wait months while they investigate.

Why it's still worth getting right

• Retirement-fund death benefits fall outside your estate — no executor's fee — and are generally not subject to estate duty.
• Lump sums are taxed under the retirement lump sum table, as if you had retired the day before you died.
• Dependants in Thailand count — trustees will need proof of a Thai partner's or children's dependency, so keep documents ready.
• Update after every change — marriage, divorce, children, a new partner.

Living annuities and GEPF

A living annuity isn't subject to section 37C in the same way: your nominated beneficiaries can usually take the remaining value as a lump sum or continue the income themselves, so naming them is essential. GEPF has its own rules, including a spouse's pension, and its own nomination form. A beneficiary living in Thailand may also face Thai tax on income they bring into the country. Our guide to retirement annuity and pension considerations for South Africans abroad covers the wider picture.

Offshore bonds and investment policies

Many South Africans abroad hold investments through offshore bonds and life-assurance-based investment policies, as well as South African endowments. These are technically life insurance contracts, and that makes the roles on the policy unusually important.

The policyholder owns the bond and makes the decisions about it. The life assured is the person whose death ends the policy, and when the last life assured dies, the bond usually pays out. The beneficiaries then receive the value — directly, through a trust or through the policyholder's estate.

Getting these roles right can make a big difference. A bond with several lives assured — for example, a couple and their children — can continue after one death instead of being cashed in, which may be better for tax and investment growth. A capital redemption version doesn't depend on a life at all. And a bond with nominated beneficiaries or held in trust can pass to the family without waiting for executors in two countries.

Many international platforms offer ready-made trusts, sometimes free of charge. Ardan International, for example, offers a free beneficiary trust on its platform. Our guide to offshore investment structures explains how they fit together.

Who owns the policy matters too

Beneficiaries aren't the only names on a policy that count. Who owns a life policy changes who controls it, who the payout belongs to and, sometimes, how it is treated for estate duty.

Own-life policies

Most people insure their own life and own the policy themselves. Without a nominated beneficiary or trust, the payout then belongs to their estate. That is why naming beneficiaries is so important for own-life cover.

Life-of-another policies

A couple can each own a policy on the other's life. If one partner dies, the surviving partner already owns the policy and receives the payout directly as the owner. This can be a simple alternative for couples, and may be treated differently for estate duty — though it has drawbacks if the relationship ends or both partners die together.

Joint-life policies

A joint-life, first-death policy covers two people and pays out once, on the first death. It is usually cheaper than two single policies, but leaves the survivor uninsured. Two single policies cost more but pay twice if both partners die, and each can name its own beneficiaries — often better for blended families.

Group life and ceded policies

Group life cover through an employer's retirement fund has its own nomination, often forgotten — and it ends when you leave the job. A policy ceded to a bank as security for a bond pays the bank first. Check both.

Leave your family a map

Policies that nobody knows about can go unclaimed for years — South Africa has billions of rand in unclaimed policies and retirement benefits. With money in several countries, the risk is much greater: a partner in Thailand may not know the name of a South African fund administrator, and children in South Africa may not know about a Thai bank account. A simple family file solves this.

Keep a list of every policy, fund and account, with the provider, country, reference number and contact details, and note where your wills are kept and who your lawyers or fiduciary are in each country. Add copies of nomination forms and trust deeds, or where to find them, and the names and contact details of your trustees, executors and guardians. Include your adviser's details, so your family has someone to call, and key documents: ID, passports, marriage and birth certificates, property papers and your SARS number.

Keep it somewhere secure that at least two people can reach, and update it at every review.

Where to start

A free check of every beneficiary, trust and nomination you have, introductions to specialists for new cover, and money your partner can reach.

Thai bank accounts and assets

Thailand doesn't recognise beneficiary nominations on ordinary bank accounts, and it doesn't recognise South African letters of executorship. When a Thai bank learns of a death, the account is frozen — and joint account holders can lose access too. The bank will release the money only on a Thai court order appointing an administrator.

That has real consequences for a family living in Thailand. If the household's day-to-day money is in a Thai account in one partner's name, the other partner may have no access to it for months. With a Thai will and no dispute, getting the court certificate typically takes around four to six months; relying on a foreign will usually adds six to twelve months more, because it has to be translated, legalised and proved.

What to do

Make a Thai will covering your Thai assets, alongside your South African will, and make sure the two don't revoke each other. Give each partner money in their own name — enough to live on for several months, in Thailand and offshore — and keep a list of accounts, policies and contacts somewhere your family can find it. And understand the property rules: a foreign heir who inherits Thai land must usually sell it within a set period, and condo ownership has its own rules.

Our guide to estate and beneficiary planning for South Africans abroad explains wills and estates in both countries step by step.

Estate duty, executor's fees and beneficiaries

While you're ordinarily resident in South Africa, estate duty applies to your worldwide assets; once you're not, it generally applies only to your South African assets. The main figures are an abatement of R3.5 million, a rate of 20% on the dutiable estate and 25% on the portion above R30 million. Everything left to a surviving spouse is deductible — including a spouse who isn't South African resident.

Separately, an executor can charge up to 3.5% of the gross estate plus VAT, unless a lower fee is agreed. And capital gains tax can fall due on death; there's no roll-over when assets pass to a spouse who isn't South African resident.

Why this matters for beneficiaries

A life policy without a beneficiary adds to the estate — and to the executor's fee. Naming a beneficiary avoids the fee, but the policy is generally still counted for estate duty unless it goes to a spouse. Retirement funds fall outside the estate and are generally free of estate duty, which is another reason to keep nominations current. Trusts can keep money outside your estate, but they have their own tax rules.

Tax rules are complex and depend on your circumstances; Lawrence works with tax practitioners and fiduciary specialists where needed. Our guide to tax residence, SARS and international investments explains residence.

Thai inheritance tax and heirs

Thailand has an inheritance tax, but it applies only to inheritances above ฿100 million received by an individual heir, at 10% — or 5% for ascendants and descendants — with spouses exempt. Most families will never pay it, but very large estates should plan for it.

More relevant for most families are Thailand's inheritance rules. Without a Thai will, Thai assets pass to statutory heirs in a set order: descendants, parents, siblings and so on, with a married spouse sharing alongside them. Marital property is usually split first, with half belonging to the surviving spouse. Thailand doesn't have forced heirship, so a Thai will can leave everything to a spouse or anyone else you choose.

Unmarried partners

An unmarried partner is not a statutory heir in Thailand, and may have no rights to your Thai assets without a will. In South Africa, courts have extended some inheritance rights to permanent life partners, but proving the relationship can be slow and contested — and a retirement fund will still apply section 37C. If you're not married, nominations, trusts and wills in both countries are essential — not optional.

Children as beneficiaries

Most parents want their children to benefit, but naming young children directly can create problems. In South Africa, money inherited by a minor with no trust in place is usually paid into the Guardian's Fund, administered by the Master of the High Court — and getting money out for school fees can be slow and bureaucratic, especially from Thailand. And a large sum handed over at 18 isn't always what parents would choose.

Better ways to provide for children

Use a trust — a testamentary trust in your will, or a trust on international policies — with trustees who can pay for school fees, living costs and university, and choose when children receive capital, for example at 21 or 25. Name guardians in your will, thinking about which country the children would live in, and leave a letter of wishes explaining how you'd like the money used, especially for education.

Education is often the biggest single cost. If you're saving for school or university, our guide to saving for international school fees in Thailand shows how a plan and life cover work together. Ask about school-fee planning, or compare schools in our international schools directory.

Second marriages and blended families

Many South Africans in Thailand are in a second marriage or long-term relationship, often with children from more than one relationship — some in South Africa, some in Thailand. Without clear planning, money can easily flow in a direction nobody intended. If everything passes to a new spouse, children from a first marriage may receive nothing if the spouse later leaves everything to their own family. If everything goes to the children, a surviving partner in Thailand may be left without a home or income. And a former spouse with a maintenance order, or children still owed maintenance, may have a claim against your estate.

Nominations and trusts are the best tools here. A life policy or investment can provide an income for a surviving partner while protecting the capital for children. Separate policies for separate purposes — one for the partner, one for each set of children — make intentions clear. Remember that retirement-fund trustees will still consider every dependant under section 37C, so a letter explaining your wishes, kept with your nomination, helps them understand what you wanted.

Currency: getting the money to the family

A South African life policy or retirement fund pays in rand; an international policy may pay in dollars or euros. If your family lives in Thailand, that money has to be converted into baht — often at a stressful time, and often in large amounts. The exchange rate on the day, and the margin charged by the bank, can make a difference of tens of thousands of rand.

A payout from South Africa also has to leave the country: beneficiaries need their own tax compliance status for large transfers, and a non-resident beneficiary may need a non-resident account. Trustees and beneficiaries don't have to accept the bank's rate either. A specialist FX provider can quote a better rate, spread the transfer over time, or fix a rate in advance. Telling your family and trustees this now, and leaving them a contact, is a simple way to protect the payout.

When to review your beneficiaries

Beneficiary arrangements should be checked every few years, and always after a major life change: moving country, including emigrating to Thailand or moving on; marriage, divorce or a new relationship; the birth or adoption of a child or grandchild; or buying property in Thailand or elsewhere. Check them too when you retire from a fund, move to a living annuity or withdraw an RA, when you take out or close a policy or investment, after the death of a beneficiary or trustee, and when you cease South African tax residence, which changes estate duty.

Our guide to family financial protection when relocating covers everything else a move changes.

The most common mistakes

The most common mistake is having no beneficiary on a life policy, which means slower payouts and executor's fees, closely followed by out-of-date retirement-fund nominations that name an ex-spouse, or nobody at all. Relying on a South African will in Thailand can work, but adds months. Putting everything in one partner's name leaves the other without access, and naming young children directly can leave their money in the Guardian's Fund. Getting bond roles wrong — the wrong life assured — can force a sale, and many people assume an unmarried partner is protected when often they're not. And if you don't tell anyone, policies nobody knows about can go unclaimed.

Three real-world examples

These are illustrations, not real clients.

Deon, 50 — remarried in Thailand

Deon's retirement annuity nomination still named his first wife, and his life policy, taken out with his old bond, named no beneficiary. In a review, he updated his RA nomination and wrote a letter of wishes for the trustees, named his Thai wife as beneficiary on a new life policy and his adult children on another, and made a Thai will leaving his Thai bank accounts and condo to his wife. His South African will now deals with South African assets.

Lerato and Tom, both 39 — two young children in Bangkok

Their life cover named each other and then "the children" — which would have sent the children's share to the Guardian's Fund. They put new international cover in trust with a sister in Johannesburg and a close friend in Bangkok as trustees, added testamentary trusts to their wills, left a letter of wishes covering school fees, and named guardians.

Johan and Sue, 63 and 61 — unmarried, retired in Hua Hin

Johan assumed Sue would inherit everything. In fact, she wouldn't have been a statutory heir in Thailand, his living annuity named no beneficiary, and proving their partnership in South Africa could have taken years. They made Thai and South African wills, named each other on the living annuity and life cover, and opened accounts in Sue's own name holding six months' living costs.

Your beneficiary checklist

1. List every policy, fund, bond and account — country, provider, value and reference number.
2. For each, note who would receive it and how — nomination, trust, section 37C or estate.
3. Nominate beneficiaries on life policies, or use a trust, with trustees in the right countries.
4. Update retirement-fund nominations — RA, preservation, pension, provident, living annuity and GEPF.
5. Check offshore bonds — policyholder, lives assured and beneficiaries.
6. Make wills in each country where you hold assets, that don't revoke each other.
7. Protect children and partners — trusts, guardians and money in each partner's name.
8. Tell your family where everything is, and review every few years.

Keeping your documents safe

A beneficiary list is a map of your family's finances — exactly what fraudsters want. Store it securely, share it only with people who need it, be wary of unexpected calls about "unclaimed policies" or "tracing fees", and use a private, protected connection when you log in to fund and insurer portals from public Wi-Fi.

How we researched this guide

This guide draws on our South African estate, retirement and life insurance guides for nominations, section 37C, estate duty and executor's fees; ThaiLawOnline (10 October 2026) and Thailand Starter Kit (September 2026) on Thai probate, heirs and frozen accounts; Forvis Mazars on Thai inheritance tax; and our Ardan International profile. Estate duty and policy rules have exceptions, so the general rules here should be checked against your own circumstances. Checked 23 October 2026. JLIT takes leads for insurance and introduces specialists; it does not sell insurance. This guide is general information, not personal financial, tax or legal advice.