Experts Harp on Increased Awareness on Estate Planning
Financial experts, legal practitioners and economists recently stressed the need to increase awareness on value of estate planning (EP).
The experts, who spoke at a webinar hosted by Proshare with support from Meristem Securities Limited, United Capital Plc, WebTV Limited and Olisa Agbakoba Legal (OAL) addressed salient questions regarding EP, Wills and Trusts and the role of the individual, trustees and beneficiaries, as well as the processes involved before and after the death of such individual. Speaking about the importance of the event, Chief Economist and Managing Editor, Proshare, Mr. Teslim Shitta-bey, explained that planning for death is as essential to living and it is necessary that mortality is adequately planned for.
“Planning should not be done tomorrow as you should plan ahead for tomorrow, planning is for today” he noted.
He mentioned however that, despite the importance attached to planning, there are challenges with intergenerational transfer of wealth and assets globally which needs to be addressed.
The Trust/Legal Officer at Meristem Trustees Limited, Mr. Ibidapo Olufade, who spoke on EP facts, fear and fiction, asserted “as the world becomes more volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) so is wealth management particularly the way assets/ wealth are transferred, or broadly speaking EP.”
Olufade added that digitalisation, robotisation artificial intelligence, and tech in general have impacted how estates are to be planned, stressing that amidst all these, new facts, fear and fiction have emerged thus the need to trenchantly discuss them.
According to him, EP involves the acts/processes which relate to arranging a person’s wealth and assets in an orderly manner, such that they are properly guided on the most effective methods of transferring these assets.
He explained that it also affords individuals (not the court) the opportunity to give what they own to persons of their choice, such that their legacy is preserved, noting that other EP tools asides wills and trusts include life insurance, special purpose vehicle(SPV) and Nomination (funds).
He said before EP, transfer of wealth and assets can only take place when there has been an accumulation and preservation of assets, saying that these processes further allow for transfer of assets through estate planning and legal planning.
Olufade mentioned that some of the fears that held people back from planning is the fear of cost and control as well as planning for death, noting that the mythical thoughts are such that planning is meant for rich people and young people do not need it.
He further elaborated on the facts, fears and fictions of estate planning adding that fears include the D word, Control, Cost and Family ties, while fiction include the assumption that EP is only for the rich and young people don’t need it, and the belief that if one dies your spouse automatically gets everything.
On her part, Managing Partner, OAL, Mrs Yvonne Ezekiel, emphasised the need to consult a lawyer to provide legal advice as some of the common mistakes made in writing a will is drafting a will without legal advice, improper execution and attestation of the will and not keeping the will at the probate registry.