Most people want to go to heaven but they fear the only way to heaven – death. Yet we should be at peace with death. The day you are born, it is written in stone that you will die, whether you like it or not. When we think of death these are the things that often come to our mind. We forget one of the most crucial issues, life after death – for our loved ones and dependants who we leave behind, hence the importance.

Planning for family after you have passed on is one way of making sure that their lives don’t fall apart as soon as you get off the scene. A lot of people often claim that they are working hard so their children do not have to work as hard as they do.

So it is important to prepare for that unfortunate day and the time after by saving and investing wisely in tools that do not necessarily depend on you for their survival, hence the importance of estate planning.

Estate planning should be an integral part of your financial plan, yet many people fail to realize the implications of not planning their estates before they die. Planning your estate includes drawing up a will, establishing what you own and how much you owe, and calculating what your estate will have to pay out before any assets can be passed on to your beneficiaries. Preparing a will encourages you to assess your financial situation and to ensure that your property, savings, benefits and assets will be managed according to your wishes.

In most cases, you will need a lawyer to guide you and protect your estate. In the absence of a will you risk leaving conflicts in your family over your estate and endangering the lives of your loved ones who financially depended on you while you were alive. Also it will protect your loves ones, for example unmarried spouses and the will is the only way to make sure that your wishes are carried out. It will also specify clearly the guardian for your children if need be and that your estate will be transferred legally to them.

We have to put away some of the traditional African believes that one should not prepare for his passing. It is also important to make available crucial financial information like account details to a trusted family member or your next of kin to avoid eventual loss in your absence.

All in all, remember that there is life for your loved ones after your death and recognizing this fact in essential in protecting them from unnecessary financial problems in your absence.

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