Have a plan on how to manage your assets for life and legacy
At RandLife we know that people’s legacies are built across generations, connecting the past, present and future. Wealth, as part of a legacy needs to be carefully managed and protected in order to be passed on.
We offer expert assistance in creating wills and estate plans that are tailored to your needs. Ensuring that your assets are distributed in accordance with your wishes, while also minimising taxes and other fees that may be incurred
An estate is comprised of everything someone owns – essentially their net wealth, their property, car, money, investments, business interests, and their personal possessions.
At RandLife we believe that estate planning must consider your financial circumstances and requirements as well as the legacy that you want to leave for your family and beneficiaries and future generations.
Your estate plan should not be a once-off exercise and must evolve as and when your circumstances change.
- The primary goal of an estate plan is to transfer wealth to an identified set of beneficiaries in such a way that they enjoy maximum benefits
- Creating liquidity for the payment of anticipated liabilities that may arise when you pass away, such as executor’s fees, estate duty and capital gains tax
- Ensuring that your estate is administered efficiently
- Minimising costs and taxes that may be payable such as executor’s fees and estate duty
- Ensuring that the future growth of assets is not limited
- Protecting assets
- Preparing a flexible plan which can be amended as and when your circumstances change
Because your life changes now and then.
Estate planning is the process of arranging and preparing for the management and distribution of an individual’s assets after their death. An estate plan should be reviewed if there has been a change in your circumstances.
This includes:
- Recently married, divorced or widowed
- Had a baby, adopted a child or became a grandparent
- Potential purchase of an asset/s
- Potential sale of an asset or assets which are bequeathed in terms of your will to an heir
- Experienced a change in your personal or financial situation
- Change in legislation e.g. the Budget Speech made by the Minister of Finance
- Acquisition of a new business – succession planning is crucial
Services we offer to Assist you in planning for the future
At RandLife we will help you figure out what you have, where it’s going, and what your goals are so that you can plan ahead for long-term living.
A will could potentially be one of the most important documents you will ever sign. It provides you with the opportunity to give clear instructions on how your assets and wishes are to be dealt with when you pass away.
A will enables you to:
- Choose who should benefit from your estate
- Protect the interests of heirs, including the nomination of a guardian for minor children and/or a professional trustee to administer their inheritance
- Nominate an executor of your choice, thus avoiding the delays involved in the appointment of an executor
If any of the following circumstances are applicable to you, it may be necessary to have a will or review your existing will.
- Recently married, divorced or widowed
- Had a baby or adopted a child
- Lost a spouse, child, parent or a sibling
- Purchased a fixed property
- Experienced a change in your personal or financial situation
- Received an inheritance
Planning your legacy in the form of a trust puts you in control of your future as well as the future of those who depend on you most. Trusts are used as an effective estate planning tool and for the protection of assets on behalf of minors.
Why set up a trust
- Freezing of asset values
Assets that have the potential to grow in value in the future, such as a fixed property or share should possibly be transferred to a trust. The assets transferred to the trust no longer form part of your personal asset.
- Limited financial skills of surviving spouse or dependants
A trust can be used to protect the interests of the surviving spouse with limited skill in financial matters.
- Protection of minor children and people with disabilities
A trust can be used to protect the interest of minor children until they are old enough to handle their own financial affairs.
An executor is the person or institution nominated in your will and whom the Master of the High Court will appoint to administer your estate.
The executor is entitled to charge a fee for their services.
This fee is set by legislation and is amended from time to time. This fee is currently 3.5% of the gross value of your estate plus VAT.
In a will, you can only nominate an executor. The Master of the High Court needs to approve the nomination and then officially appoint the executor.