Wills Week: prepare the conversation your family will need

A will can be a difficult job to begin because it combines paperwork with decisions nobody particularly enjoys making. National Wills Week gives the task a place in the diary. The Law Society of South Africa lists this year's campaign for 14–18 September, with participating attorneys arranged by province.

Booking an appointment is a useful first step. Preparing for it makes the time more productive and helps reveal questions that may otherwise remain hidden until a family needs the answers.

This guide is about getting organised for qualified advice. Your family circumstances, assets and existing arrangements determine what the legal document needs to do.

Start with the people

Write down the people who depend on you and the people you would like to provide for. Include their full names and relationships, and make a note of anything the attorney should understand: young children, disability, a dependent parent, a previous marriage or a family member living abroad.

You do not need to solve every question before the meeting. It is more useful to bring an accurate description of the situation than a polished set of instructions built on assumptions.

If you have children, prepare questions about the arrangements you would want considered for their care and financial support. Speak to the attorney about how those wishes should be recorded and what practical and legal limits apply. A conversation with someone you hope would help is also different from simply writing their name into a document without their knowledge.

Make an inventory you can explain

List property, bank accounts, investments, insurance, vehicles, business interests and significant debts. You are collecting information for the adviser, not deciding for yourself that every item will be dealt with in the same way.

Ownership and existing contracts matter. Jointly held property, retirement benefits, beneficiary nominations and assets outside South Africa can raise different questions. Take the relevant paperwork and ask how the arrangements interact. A sentence in a will should not be assumed to override every other rule or agreement.

A useful inventory also includes where information is held. The person dealing with the estate may need to find a policy number, a company contact or a record of an account. You can organise those details without sharing sensitive passwords in an unsecured document.

Bring the old documents

If you already have a will, take it to the appointment. Include information about changes since it was prepared: marriage, divorce, births, deaths, a property sale, a new business or a move between countries.

Ask the attorney what should happen to previous versions if a replacement is signed. Do not rely on handwritten changes or a message to relatives as a substitute for understanding the formal requirements. The LSSA specifically identifies legal validity as a reason to use qualified assistance.

Think about the practical administration

Someone will need to carry out the estate work. Ask about the proposed executor, how the role operates, what costs may arise and what information will be required. If an institution or professional is suggested, understand the arrangement before agreeing to it.

A family can be surprised by how much practical activity follows a death. Regular bills, a property, dependants and a business may still require attention. Ask what planning is appropriate for those circumstances, rather than assuming the will alone answers every immediate problem.

Keep sentimental items visible

Families sometimes agree easily about major assets and struggle over a modest object: a recipe book, a tool, a ring, a set of photographs. If particular possessions carry special wishes, raise that with the adviser and ask how best to record them.

There may also be things you can organise while alive. Label photographs, identify the people in an old album and explain the history of an heirloom. Those acts preserve information that a legal document cannot recreate. They can become enjoyable conversations in their own right.

Questions for the appointment

Before confirming a Wills Week booking, ask what the participating practice's offer includes, whether there are limits and what documents to bring. More complicated circumstances may require additional work and a separate fee. Knowing that beforehand lets you make an informed choice.

At the meeting, ask for unfamiliar terms to be explained. Confirm signing and witnessing requirements with the attorney, and make sure you understand the completed document. Leave enough time to read it carefully rather than treating the signature as the entire task.

After the document is complete

Arrange secure storage and make sure the appropriate trusted person knows where the signed original is kept and whom to contact. A carefully prepared will that nobody can locate creates an avoidable difficulty.

Keep a reminder to review your arrangements when major circumstances change. The LSSA explains that, without a valid will, distribution is governed by intestate succession law; that may differ from the choices you would have made.

The point of the work is to leave your family fewer unanswered questions. One booked appointment, a clear inventory and a document you understand can turn a vague intention into something they will be able to use.

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