14/09/2026
This week, from 14 to 18 September, South Africa observes Week, a national initiative run by the Law Society of South Africa that encourages every one of us to sit down and put our wishes in writing.
At Wide Horizon, this week resonates with something we witness every single day; the profound peace that comes when people plan ahead, and the pain that so often follows when they don't.
In hospice care, we sit with families at some of the most tender moments of their lives. And time and again, we see the same truth play out. The families who have spoken openly about their wishes, who have a will, an advance directive, someone appointed to make decisions on their behalf, carry their grief differently.
There is less confusion, less conflict, and more space simply to be present with the person they love. The families who haven't had these conversations often find themselves navigating impossible medical and financial decisions in the middle of their heartbreak, without ever having known what their loved one truly wanted.
That is why we gently encourage everyone, not only our patients and their families, but our wider community too, to think about two things this week - your will, and your advance directive.
Making a will ensures your assets are distributed according to your wishes after you die, what the law calls your "freedom of testation." Without a valid will, your estate is distributed according to the Intestate Succession Act, which, while generally structured to provide for spouses, children, and dependents, doesn't always reflect what you personally would have chosen.
Dying without a will can mean your assets aren't left to the people you intended, delays in appointing an executor, unnecessary costs, and saddest of all, conflict among the people you love at a time when they need each other most.
Because a will only holds up in law if it meets specific legal requirements, the Law Society strongly recommends having it drawn up by an attorney rather than relying on a template found online. This week, many attorneys across the country are offering their services to help you do exactly that.
Advance Directive
A will speaks for you after you're gone. An advance directive, sometimes called a living will, speaks for you while you're still here, at a time when you may no longer be able to speak for yourself.
In our work, we often meet families in the midst of a medical crisis, trying to guess what their mother, father, husband or wife would have wanted regarding resuscitation, artificial ventilation, or aggressive treatment versus comfort care.
It is an agonising position to be in. An advance directive removes that guesswork. It allows you to state, clearly and calmly, what kind of care you do and don't want as your illness progresses and it allows you to appoint someone you trust to carry that voice forward if you cannot.
We encourage every patient and family who comes through our doors to have this conversation early, long before a crisis forces it. It is not a conversation about giving up. It is a conversation about holding on to your dignity and your choices, for as long as possible, on your own terms.
As you sit down this week to think about your will, we'd like to gently raise one more possibility, one that many of our families have found deeply meaningful.
Wide Horizon Hospice exists because our community believes that no one should face the end of life in pain, in fear, or alone. We rely heavily on the generosity of donors to provide our patients with compassionate nursing care, pain management, counselling, and support for their families, often completely free of charge to those who cannot afford it.
If you are updating or writing your will this week, we would be so grateful if you considered remembering Wide Horizon Hospice in it. A bequest costs nothing today, yet it leaves a lasting legacy of comfort and dignity for patients we haven't even met yet, people who, one day, will need exactly the kind of care we're able to give because someone once thought of them in advance.
No gift is too small. Whatever you're able to leave becomes part of a chain of care that stretches far beyond any one lifetime, and we would be deeply honoured to be entrusted with it.
If this is something you'd like to consider, we would be honoured to speak with you or your attorney about how to include Wide Horizon in your estate planning. There is no obligation, only an open door and a warm welcome. For more information email: [email protected] or contact: 016 428 1410.
Whether it's finally drafting that will you've been putting off, having the advance directive conversation with your family, or simply asking us a question about what legacy giving looks like, National Wills Week is a gentle nudge to do the thing that brings peace of mind, both for you and for the people you love.
At Wide Horizon, we believe that planning ahead is one of the greatest acts of love we can offer our families.
