It is imperative that you consider estate duty and how it will impact the legacy you leave behind. Therefore, you need to consider bequeathing life insurance and retirement annuities to beneficiaries outside your estate. These policies will be exempt from estate taxes. In addition, you need to consider funds your surviving spouse may need after your death. Generally speaking, a bank will freeze your assets as soon as they find out about your death. Liquidating your assets can take months and during that time, your spouse will need to survive. This is not always a problem if your spouse has a significant bank balance of their own, but if that is not the case, you need to take that into consideration. Life insurance policies and retirement annuities are a good solution to issues such as these.
In addition to life insurance and retirement annuities, you also need to consider short-term insurance. Making sure that your assets are covered while alive will prevent you from having to dip into your heirs’ inheritance to recover your losses. Finding reputable companies to insure your assets is not a difficult process. Car insurance, home contents and building insurance should preferably be covered under a single policy. This will usually save you quite a few Rand per month. This will obviously accrue into a significant amount annually which can then be invested in fixed deposits or other similar investments which will increase the value of your estate over time. Be sure to shop around for car insurance quotes before taking out any policies.
All in all, taking care of your finances, insurance and investment needs should not be as daunting as some people make it out to be. In addition, assuring that your family and loved ones are taken care of after your passing will only require a bit of forward thinking and sound advice from an advisor that is well versed in South African Law and personal estate economics.
Since you will be the person signing your name to all of these big agreements, it is seriously advisable to research your options thoroughly before making any commitments. Taking a few minutes to research your choices can save you and your estate beneficiaries a significant amount of money, hassle and potential losses.