Over the last few weeks, I asked many single moms what their greatest concerns were regarding drawing up a will.

I collected the many questions and concerns that were sent to me, and sat down with fiduciary expert Deenisha Nadesan of Capital Legacy to answer these questions and address the concerns that were raised.

One of the greatest concerns was around how their funds would be managed for the child if they were no longer around.

Sadly, many women were worried about leaving the biological father in charge of their children’s money.

They wanted to know how to protect the funds to ensure that they were used for the benefit of the child. Even some married mothers confessed to me that they are not certain the father would prioritise their children if he were to remarry.

Examples of other questions were “Can I leave my property to my 12-year-old daughter?” and “What makes a will valid?”

In my chat with Deenisha, I learnt a few new things: a beneficiary’s spouse cannot be a witness to a will and if a will is handwritten, then it must be stamped by a commissioner of oaths – whereas that is not the case for a typed will.

I also discovered that even if you have elected a guardian in your will, your preferred guardian would still need to approach the Children’s Court and that a biological father has an automatic right to become the guardian unless there are mitigating circumstances.

While this was a discussion about single moms, it is relevant to any parent, and I encourage you to listen and learn.

Capital Legacy has created a comprehensive resource called The Single Mom’s Guide To Wills,   where you can find detailed answers to all of your questions around estate planning.

This content was created in partnership with Capital Legacy.