Planning to leave a legacy

My wife and I are expanding our family, and I’m not sure where to start when it comes to building a legacy to leave them with one day and it if will be enough?

Name withheld

Nirdev Desai, head of sales at PSG Wealth, reponds: The first step is to start early and secure your legacy by putting a financial plan in place that allows you to build your wealth – key to building intergenerational wealth is robust estate planning as part of your financial plan. Building a financial portfolio takes patience and care and should be reviewed annually (at least) to ensure that it grows along with you through your different life stages.

As part of the process, it’s important to make sure that you are covered from a risk perspective. This does not only include life cover (to ensure your dependants are provided for) but also severe illness and income protection cover so that you are protected if your ability to earn an income is disrupted.

One of the most important aspects of creating a legacy is ensuring that your will remains updated. Winding up a deceased estate is not a quick or easy process for those left behind, so make sure everything is in order.

Working with a fiduciary practitioner is strongly recommended. Putting specific structures in place to secure your estate can take years, and it is best to ensure that you have the time to implement these structures as intended so that your legacy is passed on efficiently and smoothly.

A thorough financial planning exercise will help to determine how much you need to save to have a financially secure retirement and put the right steps in place to leave a legacy behind. Starting sooner rather than later is the first and most important step to take.