Trusts can often cause problems and in some instances you may have been better off paying the taxman.
Here is an example of a "trust debacle".
In 1975 Jack and Jill had a successful business and transferred it to a trust for the benefit of their daughter Jane, aged 5.
The transfer value of the shares was R100 000 in 1975. In order to provide security for Jill, she was made an income beneficiary only of the trust.
In 1980 Jack and Jill were divorced. In 1990 Jane married and due to family tensions became estranged from her parents. Jack remarried in 1985.
Jack now wants to sell the business (currently worth about R10 million) and retire to a family farm to be acquired by the trust.
Jill and Jane say no. If the business is sold they want the money to be invested on the Stock Exchange as they do not believe that a family farm will escalate in value in line with other investments.
In short, Jack may have sorted out his estate duty problem (he has achieved a saving of 25 percent on R10 million) but he cannot access the proceeds of the sale of his own business as he is not the beneficiary of the trust.
The case illustrates that an ill-considered trust deed can cause more problems than the most prudent of South African Revenue Services officials.