Liquidity, the part no one talks about

 When someone dies, the emotional impact is immediate. The financial impact is too.

Within days, sometimes weeks, bills begin to surface. 

Funeral costs. Bond repayments. School fees. Staff salaries. Executor fees. Ongoing household expenses. And yet, at that exact moment, access to money can slow down, especially if it is the breadwinner who passes away.

• Accounts may be frozen.
• Assets may be tied up in property or long-term investments.
• Portfolios may take time to unwind.

This is where many families get an unpleasant surprise.

Asset-rich is not the same as cash-ready

On paper, the estate may look substantial. Property. Investments. Business interests.

But paper value does not pay immediate expenses.

Liquidity risk is simply the gap between:

• what your estate is worth on paper, and
• what your family can access when they need it.

This gap is where stress lives.

A very real scenario

Imagine a family home that is bond-free and valuable. There are strong investment portfolios. There may even be offshore assets. But in the first month after death, there is limited accessible cash.

• Should property be sold quickly?
• Should investments be liquidated (possibly at the wrong time)?
• Should a surviving spouse cover costs personally while waiting for the estate process?

These are not theoretical questions. They are the practical ones that families face under pressure.

Where planning changes the experience

Liquidity planning does not mean keeping excessive cash idle. It means understanding:

• Where will the first few months of funding come from? 
• What costs are likely to arise early?
• How long might assets realistically take to transfer?

It is one of the simplest ways to make a difficult period manageable. Without liquidity planning, families may feel forced into rushed decisions. With liquidity planning, they have breathing room.

The real questions

If something happened tomorrow:

1. Would your family have access to cash in the first weeks and months?
2. Would they know where it is held?

Would they know who to call?

Liquidity planning is not pessimistic. It is practical. It is one of the most considerate things you can do for the people who will already be navigating enough.

If you would like to review how your or your spouse's estate would function in real time, speak to your wealth manager. A short conversation now can prevent difficult decisions later.

* Klee is the financial planning executive at Nedbank.

PERSONAL FINANCE