Forget wills, plan your estate to outlive you

Numerous estate owners have left their dependents destitute, squabbling or the laughing stock of the country or village (depending on the publicity generated by family feuds) just because they failed to plan how their property and assets will be managed once they are gone.

In many African traditions, it’s common for people to consciously refuse to write wills, insisting that doing so is ‘inviting death’. In the same spirit, some people go to great lengths to keep their financial information from their spouses and children.