Johannesburg - With the arrival of December, South Africans are counting down the days until holiday-mode.
And for the first time in three years, South Africans are free from pandemic restrictions and can travel overseas to ski in Europe, lounge on Thai beaches, drive to neighbouring countries like Namibia or visit their favourite South African holiday destinations.
And whether you're road tripping across the country or heading off on an exotic overseas trip, experts have warned of the importance of having your affairs in order before you leave.
They explained that organising your holiday should include making sure your affairs are in order before you set off.
“It’s the ideal time to ensure your estate planning is up to date and that the essentials of your life are well-organised and easily accessible in case something untoward happens,” explained Rachelle Best, spokesperson for Heritage Vault, the new digital solution to replace that 'In case of emergency' folder.
Here is Best’s eight things to organise before you go on holiday:
1. Your Last Will and Testament
“If you don’t have one yet, it’s vital that you draw up this legal document that details guardianship of your minor children, identifies the executor of your Will, provides instructions for the resolution of your estate, names your beneficiaries and communicates your last wishes,” Best said. She added that it’s important to ensure your Will is properly signed and witnessed and that your loved ones know where to find the original document of your latest Will.
2. Personal Documents
Best said that your ID and Passport, Birth and Marriage certificates, Medical and Life Insurance policies, Retirement Annuity and Funeral policies all need to be collated and kept safe.
“Your family needs to know where to find these,” she said.
3. Living Will
While this is not yet a legal document in South Africa, it is mostly taken into account, Best said.
“Your Living Will defines the medical treatments you would or would not like in the event that you are incapacitated by sudden illness or injury,” Best said.
Travellers usually include a copy of their Living Will in their travel documents, so that wherever you are, medical staff are informed of your wishes.
4. Assets List
Best explained that this is a list of your assets, including possessions such as your artworks and antiques, as well as the relevant documentation pertaining to these.
“Don’t forget to include the information needed to access your cryptocurrency accounts. This will help your executor and family to manage your estate in a well-organised way,” she said.
5. Accounts
Best said that your executor is going to need the details of all your financial and consumer accounts.
“Provision needs to be made for debit orders on your bank account as the bank accounts of a deceased person are frozen,” she said.
6. What will happen with your social media and digital life?
Best believes that this is a personal choice. “It’s up to you - you need to decide what you would want to happen to your social media accounts and content, as well as your contacts, email accounts and digital photographs and videos.”
“We’ve probably all seen someone wishing a friend ‘Happy Birthday’ on their Facebook wall because they didn’t know they had passed. You can decide to either have your social media profiles deleted or transitioned to ‘In memoriam’ pages,” Best said.
She suggested providing details to social media accounts in order to access the accounts on phone and your computer and think about how they will manage multi-factor authentication processes on your accounts.
7. Making plans for your fur babies
When we go on holiday, most of us leave our pets in the care of pet-sitters or boarding kennels. What would happen to them if we don’t come back?
“Whether you are about to travel or not, you need to think about a good solution for the ongoing care of your fur babies and then leave clear instructions so you know they will be looked after,” Best said.
8. Getting it altogether and keeping it all safe
Best said that the greatest challenge in planning for the settlement of your estate is making it easy for your bereaved loved ones and your executor to easily access all that they need to settle your estate quickly and smoothly.
“You want to do everything you can to minimise their stress at a heart-breaking time. Solutions range from the ‘In Case of Emergency’ binder or a folder on your desktop, to stuffing the home safe or using a bank vault,” she said.
However, Best said that more often than not, these are not used comprehensively or in a well-organised way which ends up amplifying the suffering of surviving family members. How do they even start if they don’t know the password to your computer?