Comprehensive wealth advice and financial planning can outlive you
To achieve your life goals and financial aspirations and protect what is important to you, you must ensure that you obtain comprehensive wealth- and financial planning advice to have the right plans in place. When you pass away, it becomes more difficult because you can no longer speak for yourself. Your loved ones will also experience the grief of your loss and may not be in a good state of mind to deal with the legal and financial implications of your death. Depending on how much financial, estate and overall life planning you have done, your loved ones will either find themselves under additional stress, or have the space and opportunity to grieve without financial hardship and administrative stress. Having a valid executable will, ensuring that you have the right legal ownership structure in place (for your particular circumstances) and having sufficient liquidity to cover the costs of dying, are some of the fundamental aspects to consider when planning your finances for both during and after your lifetime.
 

Without a will, the law of intestate succession dictates the devolution of your estate
Life is unique and unpredictable for everyone. We all think of death as a far-off future event.  However, the reality is that we have no control over when our time will come. Because life is so unpredictable, it is essential to ensure that you have your affairs in order. One of the ways to avoid financial disaster for your loved ones when you pass away is a valid executable will. Speak to your Nedbank financial planner or wealth manager (who is supported by a team of fiduciary specialists) to advise you on the process of drawing up a will. Once you have a valid executable will, it is also important to make sure that it remains updated. Important life events, such as divorce, marriage, emigration, the birth of a child or the death of a loved one have implications for your will and only you can update it. Your will needs to be as clear as possible about who your beneficiaries are, and how they stand to gain from your wealth.
 

Protect your wealth by ensuring you make provision for the costs of dying
As part of the process to make sure you have a valid, executable will, it is also important to understand what the costs of dying will be and how these costs should be funded without the executor having to ‘force sell’ your assets. These costs include funeral expenses, Master’s fees, conveyancing fees, executor fees, estate duty and capital gains tax. If you don’t have liquid assets in your estate such as investments, you can consider taking out life insurance to cover these costs. What is also important to bear in mind is whether you have an outstanding bond on your residential property for which you can obtain a credit protector (a type of life cover paid out on your death to the bank) to settle any outstanding bonds. 
 

Your marital regime may dictate the portion of your assets that you can bequeath in your will
There are implications that come with being married. If you are married in community of property, it means that both spouses own a 50% share of a communal (joint) estate. You can therefore only bequeath your 50% of the joint estate to your spouse or other nominated beneficiaries. If you are married out of community of property (with or without the accrual system) in terms of an antenuptial contract, it is important to be clear in your will about how this agreement will affect your wealth distribution. If you are single, with minor children, it is important to nominate a guardian to take care of your children’s needs. If you are in your second marriage, and now have a blended family (ie both spouses have children from a previous marriage), you must consider this and make appropriate provisions to deal with this scenario. 
 

Planning your financial matters is usually something you cannot do alone
At Nedbank Private Wealth and Nedbank Financial Planning, we have a team of financial experts who is available to provide you with personal and objective advice to help you make better life decisions and avoid financial disasters. While they don’t make any financial decisions on your behalf, they equip you with the necessary information and advice so you can make informed decisions about your wealth.