Free printable checklist. Print this page using your browser's Print command. It is a preparation aid, not a legal document, tax calculation or personalised recommendation. Keep completed records private.
The people and the will
Estate planning checklist | South Africa
Tick each item when checked. Use this as a preparation aid for a discussion with your attorney or financial planner. It is not a will or a legal document.
1. Personal and family information
☐ Record your full legal name, ID/passport details and contact information securely.
☐ List children, dependants and people you support financially.
☐ Keep marriage, antenuptial contract, divorce and maintenance documents together.
2. Your will and minor children
☐ Ask a qualified professional to check that your will reflects your wishes and meets signing requirements.
☐ Nominate an executor and discuss availability, costs and an alternative.
☐ Discuss a suitable guardian nomination where relevant, taking existing guardianship rights into account.
☐ Check specific gifts, the balance of your estate and what happens if a beneficiary dies first.
☐ Record where the ORIGINAL signed will is kept, and tell the appropriate person how to obtain it.
A scan is useful for reference, but do not assume a digital copy replaces the original signed will. Nominating an executor does not itself give that person authority to administer the estate.
My first action and the person to contact:
Assets, debts and beneficiaries
Know what exists and how it may pass
3. Assets and liabilities
☐ List property, vehicles, bank accounts, investments and valuables, including overseas assets.
☐ Record business interests, shareholder/member loan accounts and relevant agreements.
☐ List home loans, personal loans, credit cards, sureties and other debts.
☐ Keep supporting records and professional contact details in a secure folder.
4. Financial products and cover
☐ Check life-policy and investment beneficiary nominations where the specific product allows them.
☐ Update retirement-fund nomination forms AND details of financial dependants.
☐ Check disability/income protection and medical-scheme arrangements for continuity and family needs.
☐ Ask how your family will cover immediate costs while the estate is being administered.
For retirement-fund death benefits governed by section 37C, trustees must consider dependants and nominees. A nomination or will does not automatically determine the allocation. Ordinary bank and investment accounts do not all allow beneficiary nominations.
Missing documents or beneficiary updates to request:
Trusts and decisions during life
Separate estate planning from incapacity planning
5. Trusts - only where suitable
☐ Ask whether a trust is appropriate after considering costs, administration and tax.
☐ For an existing living trust, locate the deed, amendments, letters of authority and asset records.
☐ For a proposed testamentary trust, have suitable terms and trustee nominations included in a valid will.
☐ Discuss distributions, trustee succession and ongoing record-keeping.
A testamentary trust derives from a valid will after death. Trustees may act only once authorised in writing by the Master. A trust does not automatically remove tax or protect every asset.
6. Financial and healthcare decisions
☐ Ask an attorney what lawful arrangements are available if you lose decision-making capacity.
☐ Discuss a financial power of attorney and its limits; do not assume it remains valid after mental incapacity or death.
☐ Discuss treatment wishes and an advance directive with your doctor, and how to record a healthcare consent mandate.
☐ Record organ-donation wishes and tell your family and healthcare team.
A financial power of attorney and a healthcare consent mandate are different arrangements. A living will is not a guarantee that every request can be carried out in every circumstance.
Store it, share the location, review it
A practical plan for your estate folder
7. Digital records and secure access
☐ List important email, cloud, social-media and digital-asset accounts.
☐ Document a secure, provider-approved access or legacy process for authorised people.
☐ Keep passwords, PINs and crypto recovery phrases OUT of this checklist and your will.
☐ Tell a trusted person where documents are kept without giving unnecessary access to accounts.
8. Keep the plan current
☐ Set a regular review reminder and review promptly after marriage, divorce, births, deaths or major financial changes.
☐ Check estate liquidity, fees, debts, taxes and maintenance obligations with a professional.
☐ Confirm that the relevant people know whom to contact and what documents will be needed.
Next review date / priority tasks / responsible person:
Official starting points
Master: wills and original documents
Master: trust administration and trustee authority
FSCA: retirement-fund death-benefit allocations
National Health Act: informed consent, section 7
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