Most people want to enjoy life while they are working and building wealth, have enough savings to maintain their lifestyle when retired plus ensure that any dependants are financially taken care of when they die. Achieving this takes careful planning and a disciplined strategy. Engaging a trusted wealth manager to look at your entire financial picture and implement strategies to achieve your short- and long-term financial goals may reduce your stress about money, support your current financial needs and help you build a nest egg for your goals.
“Wealth managers owe their clients the best possible structuring and guidance for their lifetimes, but also the best outcome if their lives are cut short,” says Sarah Love, a fiduciary practitioner with Private Client Trust, the fiduciary pillar of Private Client Holdings. Love works with wealth managers to ensure that the financial planning loop is closed. She offers advice and guidance on estate planning and makes sure that a legal and watertight will is in place.
Love starts her fiduciary role by establishing if a client has legal obligations, such as a spouse, minor children or other financial dependants. “Once we have this information, we need to establish if there is enough wealth for them to meet both their legal obligations and maintain their chosen lifestyle. If not, we need to consider additional solutions to fill the gap,” says Love. A critical aspect of closing the wealth management loop is for clients to have a valid will.
Given the delicacy of family relationships, it’s critical to work with a fiduciary practitioner when drafting a will.
“Given the delicacy of family relationships, it’s critical to work with a fiduciary practitioner when drafting a will as a minor oversight may have severe consequences for beneficiaries,” says Love. An incorrectly executed will can not only tear families apart emotionally, but can result in intestate succession or, if there are grounds, a High Court application to condone the incorrect execution and declaration that the will is accepted.
With people increasingly owning property and having capital offshore, all worldwide assets must be included in a will. “Offshore inheritance taxes and estate duty may decimate local estates with devastating consequences for the South African heirs if a fiduciary practitioner was not consulted when the will was drawn up,” says Love.
Email: sarah@privateclient.co.za
Once the will meets the client’s wishes and is executed correctly, Love advises circling back to review all their beneficiary nominations for pension funds, annuities, endowments and life policies to ensure that the right people have been nominated to receive the right benefits. She also advises her clients, where appropriate, to consult with their adult beneficiaries and make them an integral part of the succession planning process to make sure everyone is aware of the implications and can arrange their affairs accordingly.
“Our structuring will have been in vain if a will doesn’t meet the needs of a client’s heirs and factor in their whole financial plan. Unwinding structuring such as a trust and or company may also trigger unnecessary taxes and administration costs,” concludes Love.
PRIVATE CLIENT HOLDINGS IS AN AUTHORISED FINANCIAL SERVICES PROVIDER. The licenses we hold with the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) are Private Client Holdings – FSP 613, Private Client Portfolios – FSP 399 78 and Private Client Wealth Management – FSP 399 79. Private Client Trust has taken care to ensure that all the information provided herein is true and accurate. Private Client Trust will therefore not be held responsible for any inaccuracies in the information herein. The above press release does not constitute advice and the reader should contact the author for any related concerns. Private Client Trust shall not be responsible and disclaims all loss, liability or expense of any nature whatsoever which may be attributable (directly, indirectly or consequentially) to the use of the information provided.
