Estate planning is easy to put off. For many women, there is always something that feels more urgent: raising children, paying the bills, building a career, buying a home, supporting family, or simply getting through the month.
But estate planning is not only something to think about when you are older or wealthy. It is about making sure the people and things that matter to you are protected if life does not go according to plan.
This is particularly important for women in South Africa. Women head 42.4% of households, while fewer than a third of children live with both biological parents. Women also live about five and a half years longer than men on average and earn between 24% and 39% less over their working lives.
These realities can mean women carry financial responsibilities for longer, making a clear and practical estate plan increasingly important.
As Women’s Month is celebrated in August, Kashmeera Kanji, Head of Distribution Strategy and Market Analytics at Discovery Life, says women should think beyond simply having a Will.
“Every woman should have a plan, regardless of her relationship status.”
Kanji says there is no one-size-fits-all estate plan because every woman’s circumstances, family structure, financial position and priorities are different.
“Your estate plan should reflect your life, the people you want to protect, and what you want your assets to achieve,” she says.
A Will is important, but it is only the beginning
A valid Will is the foundation of estate planning in South Africa, but having one document in a drawer does not automatically mean your estate is properly planned.
Your estate plan should also consider who will administer your estate, who will care for your children if you are no longer able to, how an inheritance will be managed and whether your family will have enough money to cover immediate expenses.
It is also important to make sure your Will is legally valid.
In South Africa, a Will generally needs to be signed by the person making it in the presence of two competent witnesses, who must also sign it. If the required legal formalities are not followed, the Will could be challenged or declared invalid.
That could mean the wishes you carefully put down on paper are not ultimately carried out.
So, before asking what you want to leave behind, ask yourself whether your current Will would actually work when your family needs it.
-
Does your estate plan still reflect your life?
Life rarely stays the same.
You may have written your Will when you were single, before you had children or before buying your first property. Since then, you may have got married, divorced, entered a new relationship, had more children, acquired additional assets or taken on new financial responsibilities.
Your estate plan needs to keep up.
A Will that made sense five or 10 years ago may no longer reflect who you want to protect today.
For married women and those in long-term relationships, estate planning should also be a conversation between both partners.
Do you both have valid Wills?
Do you know where the original documents are?
Do you know who the nominated beneficiaries are?
And do you understand what assets, insurance policies and debts you both have?
These questions may not make for the most exciting dinner conversation, but they can prevent a lot of confusion when a family is already dealing with loss.
Kanji says knowing where a Will is kept and who has been given important responsibilities is not about mistrust.
It is about making sure your plans can actually be carried out when they matter most.
For single women, the same principle applies. Your wishes should be clearly documented, and someone you trust should know where important documents can be found.
One practical option is to create a “life file” containing important financial and estate-planning information in one secure place.
-
If something happened tomorrow, who would care for your children?
For mothers with young children, choosing a guardian can be one of the most important parts of estate planning.
But this should not be a decision made on paper without a conversation first.
If you want a particular family member or trusted person to care for your children, speak to them about it.
Do they understand what would be involved?
Are they willing to take on the responsibility?
Would their own circumstances allow them to care for your children?
Estate planning should also consider the financial side of raising children.
There are school fees, food, clothing, healthcare, transport, housing and all the other everyday costs that come with raising a child.
As Kanji explains, choosing a guardian and making financial provision should go hand in hand.
It is not only about deciding who will care for your children, but also whether that person will have the financial resources to do so.
-
If your children inherit, who will manage the money?
Leaving an inheritance to your children is one thing. Making sure that inheritance is managed responsibly is another.
This becomes particularly important when your children are minors.
Under South African law, assets inherited directly by minor children can be paid into the Guardian’s Fund until they reach the age of 18. While the Fund is designed to protect money belonging to minors, accessing funds for a child’s ongoing needs can be challenging for a guardian.
There is also another concern.
When the child turns 18, they become entitled to the funds, which may not always be the outcome a parent had in mind when creating their estate plan.
A testamentary trust can provide another option for families.
A testamentary trust is created through a Will and comes into effect after the person’s death. Trustees can then manage the assets according to the instructions contained in the Will.
This can allow money to be used for a child’s education, healthcare and other needs while protecting the inheritance until the child is considered ready to manage it.
However, a trust should not simply be created because it sounds like a good idea.
The trustees need to be carefully selected; the trust needs to be properly structured, and there must be enough money available to cover administration and other costs.
Life insurance can also form part of this planning by providing money to cover costs associated with administering the trust.
As Kanji puts it, wealth means different things to different people.
For many parents, wealth is not simply about leaving money behind. It is about preserving the opportunities they wanted their children to have.
-
Will your family have access to money when they need it most?
Having assets does not necessarily mean having cash available immediately.
A family may inherit a house, investments or other valuable assets, but those assets cannot always be converted into cash quickly.
Meanwhile, an estate may have expenses that need to be paid.
These can include executor’s fees, taxes, administration costs and the family’s everyday living expenses.
If there is not enough cash available, assets may have to be sold to cover those costs.
That could mean selling an asset that the family would otherwise have wanted to keep.
This is where estate liquidity becomes important.
Life insurance can potentially provide cash to cover immediate estate expenses, helping prevent the forced sale of assets simply because there is not enough money available at the time.
This is an area where individual circumstances matter, so women should consider speaking to a suitably qualified financial adviser or estate-planning specialist about their specific situation.
-
Are your executor, guardian, trustee and beneficiaries still the right people?
Estate planning involves more than deciding who gets what.
You also need to think about who will carry out your wishes.
Your executor will be responsible for administering your estate. If you have minor children, you may also need to nominate a guardian. If you have established a testamentary trust, trustees will have important responsibilities in managing the assets.
Then there are your beneficiaries.
Are the people you have nominated still the people you want to benefit from your estate?
Relationships can change. Children grow up. Marriages happen. Divorces happen. Families change.
That is why beneficiary nominations and other estate-planning documents should be reviewed regularly, particularly after major life events.
-
Have you actually spoken to the people you’ve chosen?
This is one of the simplest questions to overlook.
You may have nominated your sister as your children’s guardian, your brother as a trustee, or another trusted person as executor.
But do they know?
More importantly, have they agreed?
Estate planning should not be a secret exercise.
Having an honest conversation with the people involved gives everyone a better understanding of what you expect and allows them to raise concerns before they are suddenly faced with responsibility.
It also means they are less likely to be caught off guard during an already difficult period.
-
Will there be enough money to administer your estate and support your loved ones?
This may be the question that brings everything together.
Think about what would happen financially if you were no longer around.
Would your family have enough money to cover immediate expenses?
Would there be money to pay estate administration costs and taxes?
Would your children have enough financial support for their education and daily needs?
Could your family afford to keep the home?
Would your existing life insurance and other financial arrangements provide enough protection?
Women who have inherited assets from a deceased spouse should also consider the longer-term tax implications.
Although transfers between spouses may not trigger estate duty in the first estate, estate duty and capital gains tax could become relevant in the surviving spouse’s estate when they eventually pass away.
Because tax and estate-planning consequences depend heavily on individual circumstances, it is important to obtain advice from an appropriately qualified adviser or specialist.
Your estate plan should change as your life changes
Estate planning can sound complicated, but the first step does not have to be.
Start by asking yourself seven simple questions:
- Do I have a valid and updated Will that is properly signed?
- Does my Will reflect my life as it is today?
- Does someone I trust know where my original Will is stored?
- Are my executor, guardian, trustee and beneficiary nominations still appropriate?
- Have I spoken to the people I have asked to take on these responsibilities?
- Is there a suitable plan for managing any inheritance left to my children?
- Will there be enough money to administer my estate and support my loved ones?
If your answer to any of these questions starts with “I think”, it may be time to review your estate plan.
As Kanji says, estate planning is not really about what happens after you are gone.
It is about making sure the people you love are cared for in the way you intended.
And that may be one of the most important financial decisions a woman can make.
