The Importance Of State Planning And Wills

Lesego Nswahu Nchunga | Monday July 12, 2021 15:01

The pandemic has terrified the living day lights out of many of us. I believe a great majority of the world’s population have, in the last year, experienced anxiety unlike any other we have ever grown to know.

We have starred death in the eye, either our own eye or that of someone we love. We’ve received that debilitating phone call that the person you spoke with, just a short while ago, is now gone. We have grieved and mourned and tried to learn to let go.

We have accepted that for now, the grim reaper lives amongst us, to collect the souls of many. We also don’t know how much longer this will go on for. We have waited and whined, hoping it would get better, but it hasn’t. It may take some time before it does.

While we wait though, knowing that we might be next, we have to ask ourselves an important question: If we go tomorrow, have we put our ‘things’ well enough in order? Or will those who remain be left with the burden of having to do it for us?!

A good lawyer will tell you that at the heart of estate planning, is the protection of your loved ones, beyond your time here on earth. Essentially, willing is the final act of love. And although we would rather not talk about wills because of the implications of why they are needed, and because the process seems long and engaging, unpleasant and expensive.

The problem is that by the time you know you need a will, you will definitely be out of time to write one.

Yes, it is definitely a daunting and sometimes even complex task; but breaking it down into small steps makes it bearable.

A common misconception is that wills are for the wealthy. The law disagrees, though. If you have as little as P3 in your bank account, you can “will” it. Many other reasons cause people to avoid and delay estate planning.

Having a will though is important for practical and legal reasons. It helps to avoid the chaos and hard feelings which are often heaped on top of the loss and emotional suffering caused by death. I dare say estate planning does about three things.

Firstly, it protects beneficiaries. The main component of estate planning is designating heirs for one’s assets. It could be the tshimo in Kachikao, the undeveloped plot in Maokamatshwane, or the import car you recently bought. The reality is that only you know which of your heirs should have free access to your property.

In the absence of a will, the Master directs who would execute the distribution of assets, who gets what (whether or not they were the most responsible of your siblings). Secondly, an estate plan protects young children.

Although we have such a large ‘young’ population, we hardly think of or plan for the possibility of dying young, even though it has been our reality as a society for a long time. Unfortunate car accidents, and sometimes illness have been rife for years. With recent variants of SARS COVID-19, the young are falling like flies. In many instances, this leaves very young children orphaned. It is therefore necessary to think about the unthinkable.

This is where the “will” part of the estate plan comes in. To ensure that your children are cared for in a manner you approve of, it is important that you name their guardians, in the event that both parents die before the children are 18 years old. Without a will, the Master would step in to decide who will raise the children. Thirdly, an estate eliminates family messes as illustrated above. We have all heard the horror stories. Someone with money, sometimes the breadwinner, dies, and a war ensues amongst the remaining family members.

A parent may believe they deserve more of the estate, or a sibling will think they should get more of the estate than all other heirs. Such squabbling often gets really ugly, and can end up in court, pitting family members against each other. Estate planning therefore manages fights before they erupt.

It allows the testator to choose who will control their estate once the testator either dies or becomes mentally incapacitated. It also helps the testator make individualised plans for the relevant problems in their family.

The bottom line is that an estate plan is a tool that protects the family even after you are no longer able to. Although we have not prioritised it much, to avoid it dividing families, it is important that we, each one of us, strongly consider it.