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audited or possibly even independently reviewed. Our advice is to consult an
attorney or auditor to help you obtain certainty about your auditing requirements
if you are unsure.

When does my family trust terminate?
Commercial July 2018

“I have established a family trust for estate planning purposes to make sure
my children are looked after when I pass away. I was wondering though if the
trust can be terminated after my death, and if so, when? I wouldn’t like all my
planning to be for nothing because the trust just ended.”
In South African law one must distinguish between two general types of trusts,
namely a testamentary trust (established in your will) and an inter vivos trust,
established in terms of a trust deed. The latter type includes your family trust.
Both types of trust do not ‘die’ or terminate because of disuse. In general, a
trust will continue to exist in perpetuity. This is supported by the fact that our
Trust Property Control Act 57 of 1988 (“the Act”) which governs the operation
of trusts in South Africa, does not explicitly provide for when and how a trust is
terminated. This said, it does not mean that a trust can never be terminated, as
there are a number of events that can occur during the lifetime of the founder,
the trustees or the beneficiaries of a trust which could provide for grounds for
the termination of a trust.
When considering the termination of an inter vivos family trust, the first step will
always be to turn to the provisions of the trust deed. Often the trust deed will
govern when the trust will or could be terminated. Some of the most common
provisions to this effect encountered in trust deeds are:

• It may terminate once all of the trust assets have been distributed to
the beneficiaries.
• It may terminate after a certain period of time or upon the happening of a
specific event.
• It may terminate at the discretion of the trustees and/or through a resolution
passed by the beneficiaries.
• It may terminate once its primary objective has been achieved.
• It may terminate in the event that it becomes impossible to achieve its
main objective.
In the event that the trustees and/or beneficiaries wish to terminate a trust
pursuant to circumstances that are not provided for in the trust deed itself,
another option available would be to approach the High Court with a request

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