Losing my mother helps me understand the power of legacy and estate planning.

As the Accensis Fiduciary Manager, I often sit in meetings where clients decide, more often than not, what to leave behind once they are gone. But I have a superpower: my personal experiences drive me to deliver service with understanding.

Here’s a peek inside my professional diary: My day generally consists of various estate-planning meetings, with structures carefully crafted, so that an individual can best plan their financial future. The truth is that after we pass on, we all want to leave our loved ones the best possible plan. Wills are drafted, trusts are created, and estate plans are formulated to protect inheritors.

Preserving a legacy is important to South Africans - in theory. A 2025 Sanlam Legacy survey found that while 66% of South African respondents believed having a will is worthwhile, only 34% actually had one.

In the fiduciary industry,  an individual’s legacy usually refers to their

• Assets
• What will bequeathed to their loved ones, financially, of course.

The personally-curated estate plans are driven by:

• Property, shares, investments and other sizeable assets.

But material gains aren’t the best outcome for the inevitable.

Arguably, the most impactful legacy that you can leave for your loved ones is not the material wealth that you have collected during your lifetime, but rather something deeper and more meaningful:

Memories – a currency far stronger than that Kuwaiti Dinar.

We get so caught up. Often, we are so busy trying to provide financial security in case of our eventual passing that we overlook the example we are setting for our loved ones. And I know this from loss at a very young age.

I was just 10 years old when I lost my mom.  And through her memory, she lives on in my heart. It’s not just the saris and jewellery I received, but the very value system instilled in me.

The love my family have for my mum is so visible to this day. My existence is keeping it alive.

Often, family and friends remind me of her generosity, courage, and bubbly nature. Hearing “You Are Just Like Your Mom” or “You remind me so much of your Mother” always brings a smile to my face. Her spirit never died; I am her living legacy. My favourite compliment is “You Are Just Like Her”. She was my superwoman, someone who was reliable, loving, and always willing to help.

She had organisational skills similar to Marie Kondo, and was really someone that you could rely on.

In my own life, I constantly apply the lessons she taught me. From the simple things like “how to sew a button”, to major life lessons like persevering in the face of difficulty. My mother’s legacy continues to teach me and keep me grounded.

Even now, I hear her voice in the daily routines of my life.

Value systems could be the key to social success. A 2024 study found that part of parenting is not only raising children to survive, but shaping the principles they carry into adulthood.

As I have learned, legacy is more than just financial security. It is found in the way she cooked, the manner in which she carried herself, and most importantly, in the way she loved and showed up for others. To me, this will always be the most important legacy.

My mother was a leader. Being the first female graduate among her siblings, my mother taught me that ambition and determination are key tools to success. Her zest for education and helping others has inspired my own career in law. I love that I get to literally walk in her footsteps (yes – baby me loved prancing around in my mother’s work heels – much to her dismay).

Right now, we are all so consumed by securing a “financially safe future”  that we forget the true essence of legacy – how your life shapes the lives of others. At the end of the day, most people remember how you touched their lives. Very few people remember you by how much money or property you left to them.

True estate planning? involves rigorous reflection, such as “How do I want to be remembered?” and “What Values Matter most to me?”

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At Accensis, we pride ourselves on providing professional services with a strong sense of heart. Come chat to our Fiduciary Manager, Amishka Hansjee, for all your estate planning needs!

A well-structured estate can provide security. But a meaningful legacy provides something even more lasting: reassurance, guidance, and connection.

Perhaps legacy is not what we leave to people, but what we leave within them.

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