Upon marriage or entering into a long-term relationship, it is essential to reassess your life cover needs to reflect your new circumstances. If you and your spouse have acquired a home, your life cover should ideally match the value of your home loan as a minimum. Additionally, consider making financial provision for each other in the event of death.
Many women find themselves trapped in unhappy and/or abusive relationships because they do not have the financial means to escape. As such, it is absolutely essential that every woman in a long-term relationship or marriage becomes actively involved in the joint finances at the very outset of the relationship and continues to co-manage financial matters throughout the relationship in the best interests of both parties.
A trust can be useful for securing assets such as a family farm or holiday home for future generations, safeguarding against potential alienation or sale. In such circumstances, the trust serves as a valuable succession planning tool by ensuring that multiple beneficiaries across successive generations can enjoy the asset without fear of it being alienated or sold. In order to achieve this, the trust founder would need to set up an inter vivos trust and sell the property to the trust.
Home nursing is unaffordable to most families and can cost anywhere between R8 000 and R30 000 per month depending on the level of care required – bearing in mind that dementia care is a specialist field of nursing which, in most instances, is required in the more advanced stages of the disease.
During the divorce process, remember that both you and your spouse retain full contractual freedom when determining a settlement. You can choose to strictly adhere to your matrimonial property regime for asset division or opt for a negotiated settlement tailored to your specific needs.
Children under 18 cannot inherit lump sum payouts or other assets directly, as they lack the legal capacity to manage such assets. Therefore, if you intend to name a minor child as a beneficiary of a life insurance policy or bequeath immovable property to them, it’s essential to understand the available estate planning mechanisms to achieve your objectives.
In the absence of an estate plan, problems could arise in the deceased’s estate if there are insufficient liquid assets to honour the deceased’s bequests. In order to pay the bequests, the executor may need to realise assets in the estate, such as the family home, which were intended for the benefit of the deceased’s heirs.
While the proceeds of domestic life insurance policies are deemed property in a deceased estate, buy and sell cover is a notable exception. This insurance is taken out by business owners on each other’s lives so that, if one shareholder dies, the surviving shareholders can use the policy proceeds to purchase the deceased’s business shares.
Where bonded fixed property is bequeathed to your children, they may be required to register a bond over the property in their own name and, if they do not qualify for a bond, they may be forced to sell the property.
Essential money skills such as budgeting, forecasting and basic money management are very often not taught at home or at school. Not understanding how compound interest can either work for or against you often leaves people consumed by debt and unable to build wealth.