Your Estate Plan


Estate Planning Checklist

✔️ Personal Information:

  • ✅ Full legal name
  • ✅ ID/passport number
  • ✅ Address and contact details
  • ✅ List of dependents (children, spouse, others)

✔️ Will and Testament:

  • ✅ Up-to-date, valid Will
  • ✅ Named executor(s)
  • ✅ Guardian(s) for minor children
  • ✅ Specific asset distribution instructions
  • ✅ Digital copy stored safely
  • ✅ Physical signed copy stored safely

✔️ Trusts (if applicable):

  • ✅ Family Trust or Testamentary Trust set up (optional)
  • ✅ Trust deed prepared and signed
  • ✅ Trustees appointed
  • ✅ Trust assets listed and documented

✔️ Beneficiary Designations:

  • ✅ Retirement accounts (pension, provident, RA)
  • ✅ Life insurance policies
  • ✅ Investment accounts
  • ✅ Bank accounts with designated beneficiaries (if allowed in your country)
  • ✅ Check that beneficiaries are current and correct

✔️ Financial Power of Attorney (POA):

  • ✅ POA document prepared
  • ✅ Trusted person appointed to manage finances if incapacitated

✔️ Healthcare Directive / Living Will:

  • ✅ Medical Power of Attorney
  • ✅ Living Will (End-of-life wishes)
  • ✅ Organ donation preference stated

✔️ Asset Inventory:

  • ✅ Property deeds (homes, land)
  • ✅ Vehicles (ownership papers)
  • ✅ Bank accounts (local & international)
  • ✅ Retirement funds
  • ✅ Investments (shares, bonds, crypto)
  • ✅ Business ownership or partnerships
  • ✅ Personal valuables (jewelry, artwork)

✔️ Debts and Liabilities:

  • ✅ List of all debts (home loan, car loan, personal loans)
  • ✅ Credit card accounts
  • ✅ Business debts
  • ✅ Mortgage details

✔️ Insurance Policies:

  • ✅ Life insurance
  • ✅ Disability insurance
  • ✅ Medical aid/health insurance
  • ✅ Long-term care insurance (if applicable)

✔️ Digital Assets:

  • ✅ Login details for email, social media, and financial accounts
  • ✅ Cloud storage accounts
  • ✅ Crypto wallets
  • ✅ Document how and where passwords are stored (password manager or offline)

✔️ Important Documents Storage:

  • ✅ Will and estate documents stored safely (fireproof safe, lawyer, or trusted person)
  • ✅ Copies shared with executor, spouse, or trusted family
  • ✅ List of where documents are located

✔️ Regular Review:

  • ✅ Review estate plan every 2–3 years or after life events:
    • Marriage or divorce
    • Birth/adoption of a child
    • Death of beneficiary or executor
    • Major financial changes

🚩 Final Checklist Reminder:

☑️ Is everything signed and witnessed properly?
☑️ Are all beneficiaries current?
☑️ Do key people (executor, POA) know their role?
☑️ Is the document stored securely and accessible if needed?

🌟 Pro Tip:

🗂️ Create a simple “Estate Folder” (physical or digital) with copies of:

  • Will
  • Trusts
  • Insurance policies
  • Asset inventory
  • Debt list
  • Contacts (lawyer, financial advisor, executor)

suletta - Get Financial Savvy's avatar

By suletta - Get Financial Savvy

Welcome to Get Financial Savvy Little did I know when I enrolled for my postgraduate qualification in Financial Planning that, within a year, I would be diagnosed with a dread disease. I almost gave up on the idea of completing the course, fearing that the added stress might worsen my multiple sclerosis. But a wise client — a professor at Groote Schuur Hospital — encouraged me to put my shoulder to the wheel and just do it. Two years later, after many relapses, I had no choice but to stop working. My neurologist was concerned about the frequency of these relapses, and as with most autoimmune conditions, stress played a major role. I stopped working at the same time the world was hit by COVID-19. At first, I didn’t feel “left out,” since everyone else was confined too. But now, five years later, I’m grateful to be in a remission phase — and ready to start a new chapter. Encouraged by my friends and family, I’ve decided to share my knowledge of financial planning and help demystify the legal and technical terms that can feel so overwhelming. My journey into the world of finance began decades ago, translating a rate book from English to Afrikaans for National Mutual — long before computers were introduced in South Africa. That experience gave me a strong foundation, teaching me the basics of every financial product word by word. Over the next 40 years, I built a career as a financial advisor, received numerous awards from various insurers, and had the privilege of working with incredible clients and dedicated administrative staff. I hope you’ll enjoy the building blocks and bits of wisdom I’ll be sharing — real-life lessons, stories, and insights gathered from a lifetime in the world of finance.

Leave a comment