More than half of South Africans, in a recent survey, expected the process of wrapping up a loved one’s affairs after death to take less than six months. Only 28% experienced this.

When someone passes away, there is often more to sort out than most families realise.

A home may need to be valued, transferred or sold. A vehicle, and often vehicle finance, need to be dealt with. Bank accounts and investments must be traced, debts and taxes settled. Business interests may need to be valued or transferred. And if there are firearms, or assets held abroad, it means added complexity.

Each aspect adds another step or another institution, and requires more time to the process.

This Wills Month, findings contained in the recently published Capital Legacy Estate Readiness Index™ 2026 show a vast difference between South Africans’ expectations of what happens after a death in the family, versus the realities families experience.

More than half (52%) of survey respondents expected their loved one’s estate to be finalised within six months. Only 28% actually experienced this. A further 20% said it took six months to a year, 7% waited one to two years, and 17% more than two years. For 28%, the process was still ongoing when they were surveyed.

The Index, based on responses from 1,000 South Africans who had lost a loved one in the preceding five years, gave South Africa an overall Estate Readiness score of just 50 out of 100.

“Death is not only an emotional event. For the family left behind, it can very quickly become a financial and administrative one too. That is one of the reasons we created the Estate Readiness Index. We wanted to understand what families actually experience after a death, and where better preparation could make this difficult time a little easier,” says Craig Harding, CEO of Capital Legacy.

Every asset adds another moving part

The research gives insights into why wrapping up a life can be complicated.

Among the loved ones of survey respondents, 66% owned property, 54% had credit or store cards, 42% had business interests, 37% owned vehicles, 17% had investments, 9% owned firearms and 4% had assets abroad.

For families going through it, winding up each of these aspects of a deceased estate can feel overwhelming. One clearly overwhelmed respondent even reported that “The entire process is a nightmare. From beginning to end. There is endless admin that needs to happen.”

Nearly half (48%) experienced a heavy administrative burden after the death of a loved one. The challenges included delays in government processes (33%), paperwork and administration issues (30%), delays accessing money from the estate (29%), poor or unclear communication (29%), and processes that were complicated or difficult to understand (28%).

“An estate is really a lifetime of financial and personal decisions that suddenly have to be unravelled and finalised. Every additional asset, liability and relationship can add another step. Some parts of that process are outside anyone’s direct control, but good planning can remove unnecessary uncertainty. A valid, up-to-date will, clear records, and making sure the people close to you know where important documents are kept, can make a very real difference,” says Deenisha Nadesan, Managing Director of Fiduciary Services at Capital Legacy.

Focus on what you can control

Not every delay can be prevented. Government processes, third parties and the complexity of individual estates can all affect how long it takes to complete the administration process. But there are things South Africans can do to make it easier for those they leave behind.

The Index found that while 74% of deceased loved ones had funeral cover, only 41% had a valid will.

A valid and up-to-date will provides clarity about what should happen to your assets, who should inherit and, importantly for parents, who should care for minor children. Keeping an accurate record of assets and liabilities, and telling key people where to find your important documents, are other practical steps that could reduce the difficult detective work families may otherwise have to do while grieving.

This Wills Month, Capital Legacy is encouraging South Africans to go beyond asking, “Do I have a will?” and ask another simple question: “How easy am I making it for the people I’d leave behind?”

To help answer this, Capital Legacy has launched a free two-minute Estate Readiness Check, a quick and easy online survey that helps South Africans understand their own level of preparedness, and identify areas that may need attention.

Because wrapping up a life is difficult enough. But you can make it as easy as possible for the ones you leave behind.

Submitted by Capital Legacy