As 2026 dawns with all its exciting new possibilities and opportunities, let’s not forget about all the annoying – but vital – legal aspects of our lives.

They’re easily overlooked in the rush of another hectic back-to-work, back-to-school, and back-to-everything-else Janu-worry, so we’ve put together a list of ten ideas to help you prioritise what’s important to you and what’s not. Tick these items off your action list for a safe, happy and prosperous New Year!

Most New Year’s resolutions are vague, unwritten, and destined to be forgotten in the first week of January’s hustle and bustle.

But please don’t neglect this Top Ten list of legal issues that we’ve put together for you. Focus on those that are important to you, taking a few minutes to write down exactly what action you’ll take under each heading. Then set and diarise realistic deadlines to address each item:

1.      Update (or draft?!) your will. Check your executor/s, guardian/s, heirs and beneficiaries. Have there been any life events (marriages, divorces, deaths, births, new relationships, new business ventures, new tax changes, new assets or liabilities or anything else) that call for a change in your will? Should you consider making a foreign will as well as your local one? Update (or consider making) a Living Will/Advance Medical Directive.

2.      Revisit your estate planning. Are you still on track with your wealth building, your retirement planning, your corporate, trust and tax planning? Have you prepared and updated a file containing your will and all the other information and paperwork that your executors and loved ones will need when the time comes?

3.      Check your property affairs are in order. Make sure that your title deed is safely filed away together with your original purchase documents and receipts, as well as proof of subsequent capital improvements – you’ll need all of these to calculate your CGT base cost when you come to sell. If you’re a landlord or tenant, are all leases current, in order and easily accessible? If you co-own property, do you have an agreement in place laying out what each joint owner’s rights and duties are, who pays what costs and when, and so on? Does it need updating?

4.      If you cohabit with your life partner, do you have a full cohabitation agreement in place? Does it need amending or updating? Does it mesh with both of your wills?

5.      Review all your contracts: personal, employment, suppliers, clients etc. Have there been any changes in the law or in your circumstances that call for renegotiation or amendment? Are all these contracts compliant with any new legal developments?

6.      Review all corporate and tax compliance matters. Are you up to date with CIPC, tax and other returns? Do you need to update your POPIA and PAIA documentation? All the red tape and deadlines out there are as annoying as they are time consuming, but compliance is vital.

7.      Make sure you have a disaster/continuity plan in place. This should address risks like cyberattacks, data loss, business disruptors (AI springs to mind), load-shedding, natural disasters, another pandemic – the list is endless.

8.      Business and personal insurance. Are you sufficiently covered? Are any changes needed? It’s amazing how easy it is to forget to remove that premium-guzzling e-bike you sold on Marketplace, or to add your expensive new cell phone. Now’s your chance to correct that.

9.      Perform a full cybersecurity audit and health check. Check password protection, multi-factor authentication and similar safeguards, email and electronic communication security, defence against malware, phishing, ransomware and the like, staff and family awareness training etc. If you have crypto holdings, double check that they are secure.

10. Anything else? Brainstorm with your family, and with us, everything else that could be important to you.

Step into 2026 secure in the knowledge that all the legal aspects of your life are in order. And remember that we’re always here to help when you need us!

© DotNews

Disclaimer: The information provided herein should not be used or relied on as professional advice. No liability can be accepted for any errors or omissions nor for any loss or damage arising from reliance upon any information herein. Always contact your professional adviser for specific and detailed advice.