Tag: EstatePlanning

Most parents spend decades building generational wealth, but few spend the time preparing the next generation to manage it. That is often where things fall apart. We are very good at transferring assets, but we are not good at transferring judgment.

Preparing your children for wealth starts long before an actual inheritance. You need to prepare them to manage it with responsibility and perspective. As financial advisers, we spend a great deal of time helping people build and preserve wealth. I have worked with numerous clients who have spent decades building businesses from scratch and managing investment portfolios.

When two architects design the same house independently, they do not create a stronger house. Instead, they create misaligned foundations. Every now and then, a client tells me they use two financial advisers. The explanation is almost always the same. They value a variety of opinions and feel more comfortable knowing multiple professionals oversee their wealth.

Death has no diary. It does not wait for neat files, updated passwords, or family harmony. It arrives when it arrives. And when it does, the executor steps in. In theory, it is a straightforward appointment. In practice, it is anything but. I have seen firsthand how often people underestimate this role. Appointing an executor is not a box-ticking exercise. It is one of the most important decisions in an estate plan. Yet it remains one of the least interrogated.

Most parents assume that leaving money to their children is enough to secure their future. However, how an inheritance is structured matters just as much as what is left behind. Without careful planning, children can become financially vulnerable. This vulnerability often stems from how assets are managed after a parent’s death, rather than from a lack of assets.

On 6 January 2026, the Pretoria High Court delivered judgment in a case concerning an insurance living annuity. The matter involved competing beneficiary nominations made shortly before the deceased’s death. Importantly, it highlights the risks associated with beneficiary disputes in living annuities.

The 2026 national budget did not introduce significant headline tax increases. However, the 2026 national budget implemented structural threshold adjustments that materially affect succession planning. These adjustments also affect retirement modelling, estate liquidity analysis and business exit calculations for Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) owners.

On 26 November 2025, the South African Revenue Service (SARS) released a draft Interpretation Note on section 7C of the Income Tax Act No. 58 of 1962. Section 7C is an anti-avoidance provision. It targets interest-free or low-interest loans used to fund trusts. The tax authority’s message is clear. There is no such thing as an informal, interest-free loan to your trust anymore. This position amounts to a direct warning to young South Africans who increasingly use trusts as wealth vehicles.

In a world where love knows no borders, the law still does. For same-sex couples in South Africa, the journey toward equality has included landmark legal victories. These range from the legalisation of same-sex marriage to the recognition of life partnerships in inheritance law. However, one critical factor still shapes how estates are distributed. That factor is domicile.

Estate planning and retirement planning rarely appear in the same discussion. This separation often obscures the importance of retirement and estate planning as a connected process. This is because they focus on different life stages. People often treat them as separate aspects of financial planning. However, it remains important to consider your retirement funds when constructing your estate plan.