Myprotector

Do you, like most of us, simply want to get on with life with the knowledge that should anything tragic happen to you, you have created a unique support solution that automatically kicks-in and manages everything and everybody when you pass away? Whether you have much or very little, it matters not, your death will create a legal and personal administrative issue that will have to be dealt with by someone in your family whether they want to or not.

Remember! An executor manages all your legal and financial matters and the burden of administering your personal affairs is left to your family to sort out and that's really, as you can imagine, the last thing they would want to be doing. There is nothing worse for other people, like your family, than feeling like they don’t have control of a situation or that you have left them with the burden of sorting out messy estate matters, that's unfair on them. At the very least, you should provide them with an organisation that will execute your instructions so that they don't have to worry and stress about any of it.

So! Having said all that, let's look at a checklist of documents that you need to create and then you will need to understand how they get used in the deceased estate wind-up procedure:

Managing the moment when someone is in an emergency and can't speak for themselves

Firstly, if you were in an emergency and can't speak for yourself, how would you family know about it and how would you get the right help?

You need to create an emergency solution for this situation or manage it is this way:

1. Most emergency info is kept in one place
Find all the emergency records which should be in one place. First responders would need access to this information instantly, so you need to have it available near you if someone is in an accident and can't speak for themselves. The information should be clearly identifiable as the emergency data. At the scene of an emergency phones get stolen, blocked and not identified as the users etc. One very important thing to remember is that you must give first responders all the data and be able to help identify the person if there are more than one person in an emergency. They need to know who's data it belongs to. Even bracelets hold limited info and rely on someone being available to help by phone 24/7. These solutions aren't quick enough and reliable enough.

2. List of information first responders need
The data list should include the following:
- The persons name and surname
- An emergency contact name and number
- A photo of yourself
- Note any birthmarks or other identifying markings
- Medical aid company details (number and plan)
- Doctor details
- Blood type
- Special medication
- Allergies
- Medical history
- Organ donor details

3. Look for an online repository
Have a way to connect the first responder to the data in an emergency. There could be a TAG that has a link to the data online. Make sure that the TAG is recognisable to emergency responders or it will have no impact.

4. Is there a 24/7 support service policy?
Make sure you locate a callcentre linked to the online data. This is important because the family will need to be informed by a first responder that someone is being attended to and taken to a certain hospital etc. First responders don't have much time in the emergency so the quicker they get information the better - seconds saved could save their life.

WHAT ARE THE COSTS INVOLVED?

If you don't have a solution in place, then the family would be required to cover all the emergency costs with cash. Ambulance services and emergency rooms that include medication will need to be paid for. In many circumstances where a person does not have medical or emergency insurance, the person will need to be transported to a government hospital. If first responders don't know this up front, the family would incur unnecessary costs. Remember, every second is a matter of life and death.

Managing the moment when someone passes away

Secondly, death will trigger a deceased estate matter that will need to be attended to. To this end, someone will need to create a record of all your important documents so that the estate can be wound-up by an executor or an estate protector.

"Firstly, you will need a Notice of Death which sets out the identity of the deceased as well as the date, time and cause of death. If the deceased died at home, call in your family doctor for help. The deceased will be transported to a mortuary or funeral home and an autopsy may be necessary if your doctor is unable to certify the cause of death as “natural causes” (generally speaking the doctor will need to have seen the deceased no more than 6 months prior to death to be satisfied in this regard). In cases of death from “unnatural causes” (accidents or suspicion of foul play for example) you need to call in the police who will organise an autopsy at a State Mortuary.

A Death Report will then be issued, together with a Burial Order. These are issued by persons authorised to do so by Home Affairs (the list includes traditional leaders, police officers and authorised undertakers). Note that cremation requires confirmation from a second doctor. In due course the Department of Home Affairs will issue a Death Certificate after receipt of the Notice of Death and the Death Report. That can take a few weeks but you can get an abridged death certificate free of charge immediately. The executor of the deceased’s estate will need the Death Certificate to begin the process of winding up the estate and you or the executor will need certified copies for claims on life policies etc.

The death must also be reported within 14 days to the Master of the High Court." (By Tracey Mouton - Oct 10, 2018)

Understand who's responsible for what

There are two main distinctions when one winds-up a deceased estate.

The first is the legal and financial administration which gets done by an Executor where the estate is expected to be MORE than R250 000.
The estate is divided into two additional sections, namely, an estate that is valued above R250 000 and an estate that is valued less than the R250 000. If the estate is expected to be more than R250 000 then an Executor needs to wind it up.

The second is the legal and financial administration which could get done by a family member where the estate is expected to be LESS than R250 000.
If the estate is less that R250 000 then a family member or an estate protector can do all the legal and financial work to wind-up the estate. It's important that an experienced person do this work as it require knowledge about many TAX and legal matters. Here a family member is often burdened with managing all the personal tasks that are required to wind-up an estate. An estate protector (Like Myprotector) can be appointed to do all the work thus freeing up the family from this responsibility.

Decide which family member must managing these PERSONAL ADMINISTRATIVE tasks

1. Declaration of death
Notify your doctor and make arrangements to get a death certificate. If the death occurred in hospital, then they will know what to do. If the death was as a result of suicide, you must call the police.

2. Contact family and friends and close associates
- Immediate family
- Close friends
- Business partners and colleagues
- Financial advisor
- Guardian

3. Check for a Living Will
In the event that the deceased person is alive because of life support machines only. In this case, they may wish to have the machines turned off.

4. Create a memorial website
This is created so that details regarding the burial can be available for all to read and understand. Send the URL link to everyone so that it can be passed around.

5. Prepare for the funeral
Arrange for someone to do the funeral (Faith minister / Priest etc). Go to mortuary with a trusted family member or friend to make funeral arrangements. Arrangements can include transferring the remains to another location, burial or cremation. Was the decedent a funeral society member? If yes, contact the funeral society to determine the availability of cremation or burial. Also check if the deceased was in the military as they may have wanted a military presence. Look for information about their wishes and do your best to honour them.
- Don't forget eulogies and other talks need to be arranged

6. Financial assistance
The immediate costs of disposing the remains of a loved one can be expensive so you may need to arrange for funds to cover the costs. You might also need to arrange for day-to-day running costs.

7. A laying to rest ceremony
The deceased may have prepared for their funeral and might have left instructions for the family. Look for a document that would explain what type of send off they would want. This may include:
- Funeral / memorial / burial / cremation or a special place to leave the ashes
- Look for a Funeral policy to cover the costs
- Check whether they are an organ donor

8. Manage the immediate daily tasks
- Feed pets (Don't forget the fishies and birdies)
- Turn light on and off for security reasons
- Water the plants
- Disconnect the car battery so it doesn't go flat
- Look for areas where attention is needed

9. Get death certificates
Make many certified copies because each institution you need to contact will need a copy.

10. Notify government institutions
- Pensions
- Drivers license
- Home affairs

11. Notify other professional organisations
- Executor or estate protector
- Banks
- Lawyers

12. Finding personal documents
When an executor has to wind-up the estate, they need to know everything. Here is a list of the documents that you must locate if applicable. There may be others, so be diligent:
- General insurance companies for home, car, travel or medical
- Last Will and Testament
- Pension providers
- Banks and building societies
- Home loan provider and deed of sale
- Hire purchase or loan companies
- Credit card providers and any store cards
- Safe deposit box rental agreement and keys
- Trust documents
- Marital agreements
- Life insurance policies
- Pension and retirement statements
- Income tax returns
- Gift tax returns
- Marriage, birth and death certificates
- Divorce papers
- Military records and discharge papers
- Computer bookkeeping records
- Bank statements
- Accounts receivable and payable records
- Motor vehicle titles
- Deeds, deeds of trust, mortgages and title policies
- Lease agreements
- Stock and bond certificates and account statements
- Bankruptcy filings
- Partnership or corporate agreements
- Health insurance

13. Notify other institutions
- Landlord or local authority if they rented a property
- Domestic workers
- Any private organisation/agency providing home help
- Utility companies if accounts were in the deceased's name (Electrical bills, water bills)
- TV/internet companies with which the deceased had subscriptions
- Animal Vet services
- Post office (Post box account)
- Trade unions, associations with seasonal membership for cancellation and refunds
- Church or regular place of worship
- Social groups (Book club etc)
- Dentist / Optometrist etc

14. Having the Will read
Get hold of the executor who will be authorised to manage the death matters. If there is no Will, then you need to appoint someone (Lawyer / Trust company etc) to apply for probate or 'letter of authority'.

15. Close all online accounts
- Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, email etc

16. Winding-up the estate
- Executor responsibilities
To understand what an Executors role would be when winding-up a deceased estate, we have provided you with this attached document:

- Estate protector assistance / family member
Remember, a family member whose appointment is accepted by the High Court will need to do both the Executors role and the Personal role for the family. There are some slight differences because of the values of the estate being split into the two distinctions.

17. Money matters
- Contact people the deceased owes money to
- Contact people who owes the deceased money

WHAT ARE THE COSTS INVOLVED?

Winding-up the deceased estate (ESTATE VALUE = MORE THAN R250 000)
Meeting the Executor
You need to understand that an Executor charges according to a set of fees that are determined by the state (3.99%).

Winding-up the deceased estate (ESTATE VALUE = LESS THAN R250 000)
Meeting the Estate Protector
The family can wind-up the deceased estate if they wish to. Remember that a normal Executor fee is set at 3.99% of the value of the estate. If you consider that 3.99% of R250 000 (about R10 000) is about the fee that could be charged, then most Executors won't want the appointment for that amount of money. You need to know that some firms might provide assistance/guidance for a family to wind-up the estate, however the fees could be high because they are charged according to the attorney's hourly rate. There are alternative services policies that can be purchased to cover these costs. These digital service policies are inexpensive and will (under certain circumstances) do the entire estate at no additional cost.

Managing someone's heritage beyond the grave

Thirdly, your family will need to get on with life without you being there to assist them. However, it is possible to guide them from the grave - so to speak. Heritage preservation allows you to manage the legacy you leave to future generations, both in material wealth and in emotional wealth. There's a third pillar to planning and that is heritage planning. Preparing ones family heritage and your personal mark on this World is a gift that future generations can emulate.

The multi-genarational heritage plan

Everyone who who has been doing their heritage planning would have followed a set of rules/tasks to ensure that future generations have everything necessary for success. Because of this, there will be specific documents, statements, financial and digital links that need to be managed on behalf of future generations.

Decide which family member will manage the heritage preservation tasks

The heritage documents and the digital links to family archives should be in the same place. A family member will need to go through the deceased's personal things to look for and record their important past and current heritage memorabilia. Here are the heritage preservation areas to attend to:

1. Find important heritage documents
Heritage planning is the planning of how to provide future generations with both a financial helping hand and the planning of how the family will retain its values over time. These instructions can be found in the family trust rules. So, find these documents:
- Family Trust document that is registered at the high court
- Trust funding policies which are life assurance policies ceded to the trust
- Trustee documents which are the rules by which the trust will be managed according to the instructions left by the deceased

2. Find the family archive
- Share the family website links
- Create a personal link for your legacy within your family's history

3. Look for the family's vision statement
If the deceased did a heritage plan, then part of the plan would be to create a digital family archive where everything will be recorded. This allows future generations access to family values, statements and future goals etc. Locate the online family heritage archive site and make sure all family members have the link if they do not already. It is possible that the deceased had done all the work necessary for the family heritage archive, so look for a policy document that provides a heritage protector's services. The site also houses:
- Family mission for future generations to follow
- Family strategy for 3rd generation preservation

4. Collect the family history recordings and pictures
- Add all personal and family photos onto the heritage site for the deceased
- Add their letters and articles that were written or published

5. Find the life story of the deceased
- Have the life story put together as a book. This can be shared online for many many generations to read

6. Link the entire family's history to a global archive
- Add past family photos and history to the archive

7. Prepare any secret messages that an attorney was instructed to hand out
Some people have prepared secret messages for certain individuals. This might be to create closure or forgiveness but whatever the case, these are confidential letters intended only for the recipients. It's important to notify these professionals so that these letters can be executed:
- Heritage protector legal department

8. Contact the following organisations to report the death
- Trustee
- Lawyer
- A callcentre linked to the family
- Financial advisor
- Trust protector
- Family heritage archive administrator
- All organisations that appear on the heritage documents

WHAT ARE THE COSTS INVOLVED?

The creation of a family trust is something every family can have. However, the cost of preparing and registering the trust documents with the high court can be expensive. There are two types of trusts, namely, Intervivos trusts and testamentary trusts. Either way there are costs involved in setting these up.

Some organisations offer a trust protector who oversees the trustees and there are also umbrella multi-generational trusts that are available for free.