I am constantly amazed at the number of people who, when asked, sheepishly admit they do not have a will.
Dying without a will is very selfish: it can cause your family a lot of extra heartache.
If you have minor children, or any assets including any group life cover from your employer, then you should have a will. For practical purposes, a married woman should have a separate will to that of her husband.
The significance of a will in the case of minor children is that you nominate a legal guardian to care for them in the event of the death of both parents. This is particularly important for single parents.
Estate planning advisers have many sad stories to tell of the tug-of-war over children that goes on in families when both parents have passed on.
If you die intestate - that is without a will - your assets are distributed to your family in accordance with the Intestate Succession Act (generally, the assets are shared between the surviving spouse and children, otherwise the distribution line heads back to the parents).
Drawing up a will lets you decide who gets your worldly and treasured goods - and avoids family squabbles over the contents of your jewellery box.
Your will should be kept in a place known by at least one other member of your family - it's no good having a will if no-one can find it. The best place to keep your will is in your file of important documents.
There are many different parties who can help you draw up a will, including attorneys, accountants, banks and trust companies. In terms of current legislation, attorneys are the only ones who are permitted to charge a fee for this service. The other parties offer the service for free, but would normally name themselves as executor of your estate, which is where they earn their daily bread.
The current executor's fee is 3,5 percent of gross assets (negotiate this down when drawing up your will).
It may be a good idea to name a relative as joint executor (and co-trustee in a trust) with a professional executor, because your relative knows the family's circumstances best and has the beneficiaries' interests at heart.
You can draw up your own will, but you do not have the assurance that it'll be carried out as it may not be properly constituted in terms of the Wills Act. The problem with a pre-printed form is that it's not personalised for your circumstances and may not adequately cover your wishes.
If your estate is worth over R1 million you will need some estate planning from an expert, and you could consider forming an inter vivos trust.
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Dear "Glad to be a Bricklayer's wife",
Thanks for your letter of June 26. I consider myself duly chastised for my comment on bricklayers made in this column of June 22.
The comment was in the context of how to find a competent financial adviser.
It read like this:
"What are your qualifications and your experience in the financial services industry? The person you are trying to avoid is the ex-bricklayer now trying his hand at financial services."
I certainly have nothing against bricklayers, and foremen for that matter, a title which you tell me your husband also held.
As the famous investor and philanthropist Sir John Templeton says, each person on this earth is blessed with an individual talent - whether it be working with figures, bricks or whipping up a gourmet meal.
And I'm glad to learn that because of your husband's good planning and sound investments you now have a secure retirement.
It's a sad fact that too few men and women take control of their financial affairs and save enough during their working years to afford a comfy lifestyle in their golden years.