My death is likely to be very painful for me – but that’s NOT what we’re discussing now. My death’s going to be painful for those I leave behind. Does the State allow any grieving time? Hold that question in any available mental space you have. I am going to pose another question.
What becomes of everything I own after I leave this life? Before I answer that question, another very relevant question is, what is the view of the State towards my death?
ALSO READ : My Money, My Business, My Life: The last word
The State accepts that I was born with nothing (isn’t that terribly clever?). Once I start earning money, tax becomes payable. Throughout my life, I (may) accumulate wealth. This means that I receive more than I need to live on (or some of us receive more than we need to live on). You could think of this excess as profit. If I invested this profit (in whatever form), tax becomes payable again. I am legally obliged to submit tax forms every year. Then, on some specific date – let’s say 4 December 2018 – I die.
If the State had a voice, the State would say this very loudly:
“You have been a taxpayer in good standing for your whole lifetime. We don’t dispute that. However, as from 4 December 2018, you ceased being a person, and became an estate. Since you were born with zero, we view your estate as “profit”. You owe us estate duty on the wealth you have managed to create through your whole lifetime. So part of your estate, as it was on 4 December 2018, is ours. Any financial transaction after the date of your death, must be through the executor of your estate. We will now work through that executor, to ensure that what is ours comes to us, and that what is left goes to your heirs in terms of your last will and testament.
We’re happy to allow you whatever time it takes to get all this done – but for most of you, winding up your estate should take less than a year. All this is detailed in legislation.”
Read that statement again. It’s actually a STATE-ment. In this series of blogs, I’m going to unpack it, as best I can. I readily admit to being no professional in this; my sincere hope is that you’ll see the need for a professional in the weeks ahead.
So – does the State allow grieving time? I think not. They allow my executor time to wind up my estate. That’s their only concern. If I want to minimise the grief experienced by my loved ones, I need to plan for my death. It’s easy for me to ignore this whole topic – but is it right? What happens to all I have after I die? I think that IS my business. Absolutely. What do you think?
Why have I chosen 4 December 2018 as the date of my death? There are two reasons. Whatever will be, that date IS going to happen. In my life, and (with the utmost respect) in yours too. December 4 2018 was my 65th birthday. I made it. But only by the grace of God.
So what do I do now? WATCH THIS SPACE.
Jay Pillay’s first two critical decades were spent where his first decade began – in Pietermaritzburg. After studying at ML Sultan Technikon in Durban (anyone remember that place?), he then joined the sugar industry, working in Tongaat, Durban, and Xinavane – a sugar mill village 120km north of Maputo. Oh yes – there was a brief period of unfaithfulness, when he flirted with aluminium in Richard’s Bay. Upon retirement, he and his wife Dorothy – settled in Southport.
Jay began writing about salary management (for ordinary people living on a salary) in the early 2000s. Many of his articles were published by The Ripple Effect, a Durban-based corporate newsletter. In all his writing, Jay says he attempts to emphasise the big picture in salary management: it’s not just about making it to your next payday – it’s about making it to the end of your working life. It’s not just about your working life – it’s about your retirement too. It’s not just about the cost of living – it’s about the cost of dying too. It’s not just about you as a salary manager – it’s about your dependants too.
This 16-part series is being published here for the first time. It would be invaluable for salary managers in the early years of their lives – who realize that salary management is a lifetime business. Finally, it’s not just about reading stuff on salary management – it’s about careful thought (that means time, well invested), and then taking appropriate action.
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