Blue Chip Issue 96

BLUECHIPFINANCIAL

BLUECHIPFINANCIAL PLANNING | Estate planningWhy starting at the end isso importantFinancial advisors who understand the impact of well-considered estate planning can better serve andprotect their clients against the financial and administrative challenges of every life stage.Wills are often associated with the end of life becausethey set out what should happen with our assetsand possessions when we pass away. However,have you considered that instead of being the finalchapter of a client’s life, a will should be the first part of everyfinancial plan?A will is an essential part ofevery financial plan, not anafterthought or a nice to have.Starting a client’s financial journey with a clear, simple,legally-valid will creates a solid foundation for everything frominvestments to retirement savings and even business or familyplanning. So, instead of bolting the drafting of a will onto theend of conversations about financial planning, make it yourdeparture point and use it to create a roadmap for lifelongfinancial goal setting. For example, if a client has vulnerabledependants, or they want to make sure their children can studyone day, it influences how they save and invest, how much lifecover they opt for, whether a trust must be set up, etc. Far frombeing separate from a will, these financial decisions are closelyintertwined with it.This is the approach that Capital Legacy has taken since 2012,leading the charge to raise awareness of the importance of wills,based on the belief that every South African has the right to one.The alternative – dying intestate – can cause huge challenges forthose left behind.It is especially crucial for couples who have a child or childrentogether to draft their wills. So too when bringing children fromprevious relationships into their new arrangement as is oftenthe case in South Africa’s rainbow nation of family structures– blended, extended and more. A will is the place to nominatepreferred guardians for minor children and create testamentarytrusts for them.“Talking about death is such a difficult thing and often avoidedso we work hard to help start those conversations and get moreSouth Africans to sort out their wills. A will is an essential partof every financial plan, not an afterthought or a nice to have.Ultimately, it’s about making the loss of a loved one easier,” saysCraig Harding, Capital Legacy CEO.Awkward positionsCapital Legacy has launched a bold new advertising campaignabout the importance of having a valid will. It shows a series ofawkward positions in which people have died, to convey themessage that the most awkward position of all is dying withouta will.Don’t die in anawkward position.Don’t diewithout a will.Capital Legacy is an authorised FSP, underwritten by Guardrisk Life Ltd, a licensed life insurer.60 www.bluechipdigital.co.za

FINANCIAL PLANNING | Estate planningBLUECHIPA clear, simple, legally-validwill creates a solid foundationfor everything from investmentsto retirement savings.“Our campaign is provocative, yes. But it’s intentionallydesigned to stand out, cut through the clutter and shiftbehaviour. To get South Africans talking about wills. And moreimportantly, writing them. To date we’ve helped over one-millionSouth Africans get their affairs in order but there’s more work tobe done,” says Grant Fietze, head of marketing at Capital Legacy.One of the biggest barriers to will-drafting that Capital Legacyhas identified in conversations with clients is the perception thatwills are only for older people and wealthy individuals. Anotherpractical obstacle is good old procrastination. People mightintend to get their wills sorted, but they don’t prioritise it… andthen it’s suddenly too late. That’s why it’s time to turn this thinkingon its head and draft wills for the millions of South Africans whodon’t have one.WILLS MONTHThe work that Capital Legacy has done to raise awarenessof wills has included expanding the Law Society of SouthAfrica’s National Wills Week to become National Wills Month.It takes place every year in September. The aim of Wills Monthis to create focus and awareness within the financial servicesindustry and to drive consumer awareness and education.Every client’s legacy, protectedIn 2012, Capital Legacy pioneered a novel type of affordableinsurance cover and introduced it to the financial servicesindustry by way of its Legacy Protection Plan that takes careof the significant, and often unexpected, costs of dying. Whensomeone passes away, loved ones are left to cover legal andadministrative expenses, including executor fees, estate dutyand the costs of setting up trusts for beneficiaries. The totals canrun into many thousands.The customisable Legacy Protection Plan covers thesecosts with a combination of affordable insurance and excellentestate administration. It greatly eases the burden on grievingfamilies and ensures a faster, smoother process when finalisinga deceased estate. The result is that heirs and beneficiaries don’thave to wait unnecessarily long for their inheritances. Instead ofbeing stuck in administrative and financial limbo, they can moveon with their lives.Anecdotal evidence suggests that deceased estatestake a long time to be finalised in South Africa. Durations of twoto five years are not unheard of. By employing one of thelargest estate administration teams in the country, CapitalLegacy regularly wraps up estates in a year or less. Theymanage this by handling every step of the processthemselves. They do not outsource or rely on external executors.They work closely with a team of dedicated, in-houseconveyancers who deal almost exclusively with deceasedESTATE ADMINISTRATIONPlenty of companies can help your clients draft their wills,but when they pass away, who will carry out their wishes andmake sure their loved ones are taken care of?There’s a huge difference between ticking off admin itemson a to-do list and engaging with empathy at the mostdifficult time in someone’s life. The Capital Legacy promiseis to make the loss of a loved one easier. It does this byproviding industry-leading estate administration servicesthat consistently deliver some of the fastest turnaround timesin our country.estate property transfers. This addresses one of the primaryreasons why estate administration takes so long in ourcountry and supports heirs and beneficiaries by making surethey do not have to wait unnecessarily for their inheritances.This is one of many ways in which the loss of a loved one ismade a little easier.It’s one of many ways in which the loss of a loved one is madea little easier. Instead of bolting the draftingof a will onto the endof conversations aboutfinancial planning, make ityour departure point.www.bluechipdigital.co.za61