We stand at the beginning of 2025. The year lies ahead of us, with its uncertainties, promises and hope.
You would have received quotes and messages of well-wishing and advice for the year, such as
“For last year’s words belong to last year’s language, and next year’s words await another voice.” by T.S. Eliot.
“You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step” by Martin Luther King Jr.
or just wishes that our year will be blessed and that we will have good health.
In Swahili, the word safari means “journey” or “expedition.”
If someone goes on safari nowadays they are most probably going to a nature reserve somewhere in Africa, but it requires planning long ahead of the departure date. There are flights and lodges to book, game drives to plan, camera equipment to be prepared, and hats, sunblock and mosquito spray to pack.
Every year is a journey or a safari that we embark on. We do not know what the year will hold for us and what the journey will entail. We buy a new diary for 2025, set time aside to plan our bigger getaways and holidays for the year and pay the necessary deposits, we set up strategic planning meetings for our businesses, and we fill a year planner on the kitchen wall with school activities for our children, birthday celebrations of family members, and public holidays.
We should also plan meticulously for our personal goals and financial journey.
If you have not given it a thought over the holiday period, it will be a good idea to do so now before the year runs away from you.
The following should be top of mind:
- Review your will and the bequests you wish to make in light of changed circumstances or changes in assets and liabilities;
- Review the nominated beneficiaries on your life policies, retirement annuities, pension and provident funds, and living annuities;
- Sign a letter of wishes addressed to respectively the trustees of trusts, your executors, and the nominated guardians for your minor children;
- Put general or specific powers of attorney in place where necessary;
- Instruct a trust specialist to review your trust structure, trust deed and trust compliance in light of all the new compliance requirements for SA trusts;
- Sign a living will;
- Register as an organ donor;
- Schedule your trustees meetings for 2025;
- Discuss your estate plan with your heirs and loved ones;
- Appoint a professional that you have a relationship with and that your family knows as your executor and trustee;
- Make sure you specify and plan your bequests of assets that have to be registered or licenced in someone’s name, such as properties, motor vehicles and fire arms.
Are you ready for the safari of 2025?
We look forward to joining you on the journey, whatever it may bring, and to share the joys and surprises thereof with you.
This article is a general information sheet and should not be used or relied on as legal or other professional advice. No liability can be accepted for any errors or omissions nor for any loss or damage arising from reliance upon any information herein. Always contact your legal adviser for specific and detailed advice. Errors and omissions excepted (E&OE)