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You do not need a lawyer to witness or prepare the Will for you if your Will is straightforward and simple. You can use the simple format below.
The executor of the Will can be one or two of the beneficiaries of the Will.
Administrator and Executor. Please see below for explanations.
Two witnesses:
Seek two unrelated adult persons to be your witnesses when you sign the Will in their presence.
All three persons should sign on all pages. Please write the name and i/c number below each name.
Please have two local citizens as witnesses.
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The link:
https:/www.govtsearches.com/web?qsrc=999&qo=semQuery&ad=semD&o=758334&l=sem&askid=501fb13f-d1cf-41b7-a14d-5e315631408a-0-gv_msb&q=making%20your%20own%20will&dqi=making%20a%20will%20in%20singapore&am=broad&an=msn_s
References/links:
To appoint the Executor:
The Role of an Executor of a Will in Singapore
Grant of Probate:
http://www.ifaq.gov.sg/FamilyJusticeCourts/apps/fcd_faqmain.aspx#FAQ_197430
singaporeprobate.com/wills-probate-learning-centre/
Managing a Loved One’s Estate After Their Death in Singapore
singaporeprobate.com/probate/what-is-probate-singapore/
Apply grant of probate in Singapore:
How to Apply for a Grant of Probate in Singapore
How to apply for letters of Administration:
singaporeprobate.com/administration/letters-administration-singapore/
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Making a Will. It will not be enough if the person has dementia [mentally incapacitated] and has not executed a LPA – Lasting Power of Attorney
LPA: sharing a link:
.The following is extracted from the above link:
What is a Power of Attorney (POA)?
A Power of Attorney (POA) is a document that allows you to appoint another person to manage your affairs on your behalf.
Within a Power of Attorney, if you’re the one granting authority to a representative, you’re called the donor and the person you assign to act on your behalf is your donee.
What are the different types of POA forms?
General Power of Attorney
This type of POA is only valid while the donor is mentally competent. Someone who isn’t mentally competent may be affected by a cognitive disability (such as dementia) that affects their capacity to understand situations or communicate.
A General POA ends once the donor becomes mentally incapacitated or dies.
Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA)
This type of POA remains in force even if the donor becomes mentally incompetent. However, the donor must be competent when they first create an LPA.
An LPA ends when the donor revokes it, goes bankrupt, or dies. It may also end if the donee goes bankrupt.
Why should I create a Power of Attorney?
A Power of Attorney is a crucial estate planning document that allows someone you know and trust to make important decisions for you when you’re away or incapable of acting for yourself. This gives you some semblance of control when control is otherwise out of your hands. Use your POA to communicate your ideals and preferences to your donee and ensure that they respect your wishes.
Without a POA, critical decisions that affect your money and your life may be left up to people who don’t always have your best interests in mind. In some cases, decisions may be blocked without the proper authorization for a person to act.
For example, a business owner might create a POA to help manage their corporate affairs. Imagine their business deals with importing and exporting shipments, and they need someone to process customs clearance on their behalf. Without a POA that authorizes someone to provide this clearance, officials would likely stop the movement of the goods.
A common use case for LPAs is elderly parents who wish to pass on their financial and legal responsibilities to a younger family member. For instance, parents often appoint their adult children as their donees. This is essential, as elderly people are at higher risk of losing their mental competence as they age.
What powers can I grant to my donee?
The powers available to your donee vary depending on whether you create a general or a lasting POA. You can also restrict or enable their actions to suit the situation you anticipate using this form in.
In general, you can grant your representative the ability to act in any or all of the following areas:
1. Business and real estate management
Allow your donee to manage your business and properties:
- Sell or buy a house, flat, condo, or other properties
- Maintain current properties
- Make investments
- Deposit or withdraw money from a bank account
- Buy insurance and make claims
- Represent your business interests in meetings
2. Government and legal matters
Give your donee the authority to represent you in legal matters:
- File your taxes and deposit returns
- Apply for and claim government benefits
- Make retirement benefit transactions
3. Family and estate plans
Trust your donee to take care of your estate:
- Make decisions related to the care of your family
- Buy or sell personal property, such as furniture or collectibles
- Make transactions related to the management of your estate
- Deposit, withdraw, or transfer assets in your living trust
- Donate money or assets to charity
- Employ professionals, such as accountants or lawyers, when managing your estate
4. Personal welfare
Count on your donee to take care of your health:
- Give or refuse consent to medical treatments
- Give or refuse consent for your participation in clinical trials (i.e., the testing of new medications or medical devices)
- Maintain your standard of living (e.g., deciding whether you should live in a care home or independently with support)
Who can I appoint as my donee?
Your donee should be a responsible and trustworthy person in your life, such as a spouse, family member, or even a professional. This is a deeply personal decision that can impact your life considerably, so it’s important to choose wisely.
Keep in mind the legal requirements for the donee in a Lasting Power of Attorney:
- They must be of legal age, which is 21 years old.
- A person who is an undischarged bankrupt cannot be in charge of your property and affairs.
- You shouldn’t pay your donee unless you’re hiring a professional (e.g., a lawyer or accountant). Paid donees are held to a higher standard of care and skill than those who are unpaid.
You can also choose to appoint more than one donee in an LPA. In this case, you must specify whether they should act:
- Jointly: The donees must agree before they can act on your behalf.
- Jointly and severally: The donees may make decisions together or without the other’s agreement.
When making either a general POA or an LPA, you can also appoint a replacement donee to assume the role when your first choice is unavailable or unable to represent you.
.Note: Although you don’t need a lawyer to complete the LawDepot’s Power of Attorney template, you must sign the document in the presence of your solicitor, a notary public, or a commissioner of oaths.
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This is a sample Will for private condo apartment:
Please copy paste the format below as a word.doc and save it in your computer. Please print a hardcopy.
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I…………………………………………I/C No………… …….Passport No…………… .Profession………..
of No. #……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
HEREBY REVOKE all former wills and testamentary dispositions heretofore made by me and DECLARE this to be my last Will.
- I APPOINT ………………………………………………………I/C No………………………………….to be the executor and trustee of this my Will.
- I DIRECT my trustee to pay all my just debts and funeral and testamentary expenses.
- I GIVE, DEVISE AND BEQUEATH all my estate, both real and personal, moveable and immovable wheresoever situated unto my TRUSTEE UPON TRUST to sell call in and convert the same into money with power to postpone the sale calling in and conversion thereof so long as he/she shall in his/her absolute discretion think fit.
- I GIVE AND DEVISE AND BEQUEATH my legal rights and financial share in property #……………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………,
jointly-owned by ……………………………………………..and …………………………………………… [which shall not be in accordance by law of survivorship but by the authority given by me in this, my WILL], to:
|
Name IC No. |
Relationship |
% share |
|
1. |
||
|
2. |
||
|
3. |
||
|
4. |
||
|
Total: |
100% |
- I GIVE AND DEVISE AND BEQUEATH all my other property, moveable and immovable, and the residue thereto to:
|
Name IC No. |
Relationship |
% share |
|
1. |
||
|
2. |
||
|
3. |
||
|
4. |
||
|
Total: |
100% |
Page 1/2
- The provisions of the Inheritance Act and the making of this WILL and the disposition of a deceased’s estate effected by his/her Will particularly with regard to the making of reasonable provisions for the maintenance of dependents are known to me and I have taken them fully into consideration in making this Will upon my own free will, volition and at my own accord.
This Will shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the law of the Republic of Singapore.
IN WITNESS whereof I have hereunto set my hand on this:……………day of ……………………………………….2022.
Signed by the above named testator as his/her last Will after the same had first been read over by the testator in our presence and it appeared to be perfectly understood and approved by him/her in the presence of us have hereunto subscribed our names as witnesses.
…………………………………………….. signature.
Name: Identity card No:
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The above is witnessed by:
[1] Witness…………………………………… [2] Witness:…………………………………………
Name: .Name:
Identity card No: .Identity card No:
Page 2/2
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This is a sample Will for HDB joint ownership:
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I…………………………………………I/C No………… …….Passport No…………… .Profession………..
of No. #……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
HEREBY REVOKE all former wills and testamentary dispositions heretofore made by me and DECLARE this to be my last Will.
- I APPOINT ………………………………………………………I/C No………………………………….to be the executor and trustee of this my Will.
- I DIRECT my trustee to pay all my just debts and funeral and testamentary expenses.
- I GIVE, DEVISE AND BEQUEATH all my estate, both real and personal, moveable and immovable wheresoever situated unto my TRUSTEE UPON TRUST to sell call in and convert the same into money with power to postpone the sale calling in and conversion thereof so long as he/she shall in his/her absolute discretion think fit.
- I GIVE AND DEVISE AND BEQUEATH my legal rights and financial share in property [HDB apartment] #……………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………,
jointly-owned by ……………………………………………..and …………………………………………… [which shall not be in accordance by law of survivorship but by the authority given by me in this, my WILL], to:
|
Name IC No. |
Relationship |
% share |
|
1. |
||
|
2. |
||
|
3. |
||
|
4. |
||
|
Total: |
100% |
- I GIVE AND DEVISE AND BEQUEATH all my other property, moveable and immovable, and the residue thereto to:
|
Name IC No. |
Relationship |
% share |
|
1. |
||
|
2. |
||
|
3. |
||
|
4. |
||
|
Total: |
100% |
Page 1/2
- The provisions of the Inheritance Act and the making of this WILL and the disposition of a deceased’s estate effected by his/her Will particularly with regard to the making of reasonable provisions for the maintenance of dependents are known to me and I have taken them fully into consideration in making this Will upon my own free will, volition and at my own accord.
This Will shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the law of the Republic of Singapore.
IN WITNESS whereof I have hereunto set my hand on this:……………day of ……………………………………….2022.
Signed by the above named testator as his/her last Will after the same had first been read over by the testator in our presence and it appeared to be perfectly understood and approved by him/her in the presence of us have hereunto subscribed our names as witnesses.
…………………………………………….. signature.
Name: Identity card No:
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The above is witnessed by:
[1] Witness…………………………………… [2] Witness:…………………………………………
Name: .Name:
Identity card No: .Identity card No:
Page 2/2
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Format to make a simple Will to bequeath the property to a single beneficiary:
I…………………………………………of No. # ………………………………………………………………………………………..
I/C No………………………Passport No: ……………………….. …….…………..[profession],
HEREBY REVOKE all former wills and testamentary dispositions heretofore made by me and DECLARE this to be my last Will.
1. I APPOINT ………………………………………………………I/C No………………………………….to be the executor and trustee of this my Will.
2. I DIRECT my trustee to pay all my just debts and funeral and testamentary expenses.
3. I GIVE, DEVISE AND BEQUEATH all my estate, both real and personal, moveable and immovable wheresoever situated unto my TRUSTEE UPON TRUST to sell call in and convert the same into money with power to postpone the sale calling in and conversion thereof so long as he/she shall in his/her absolute discretion think fit.
4. I GIVE AND DEVISE AND BEQUEATH property #……………………………………………………………………………………to …………………………………….I/C No…………………………Relationship: ………………, percentage share: 100%; and property #……………………………………………………………………………………………………….to ………………………………………………I/C No. ………………………….Relationship: ………………., percentage share: 100%.
5. I GIVE AND DEVISE AND BEQUEATH all my other property, moveable and immovable, and the residue there to:
|
Name |
I/C No. |
Relationship |
% share |
| 1. | |||
| 2. | |||
| 3. | |||
| 4. | |||
|
Total: |
100% |
6. The provisions of the Inheritance Act and the making of this WILL and the disposition of a deceased’s estate effected by his/her Will particularly with regard to the making of reasonable provisions for the maintenance of dependents are known to me and I have taken them fully into consideration in making this Will upon my own free will, volition and at my own accord.
This Will shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the law of the Republic of Singapore.
IN WITNESS whereof I have hereunto set my hand on this:……………day of ……………………………………….2014
Signed by the above named testator as his/her last Will after the same had first been read over by the testator in our presence and it appeared to be perfectly understood and approved by him/her in the presence of us have hereunto subscribed our names as witnesses.
……………………………………………..
Name:
Witness…………………………………… Witness:…………………………………………
Name: Name:
Passport No: Passport No:
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How to stop siblings from fighting over parents’ properties
SINGAPORE – If you do not want to give your share of a property away, you should think twice about including a joint owner to the title.
Some parents include their children’s names on their property for administrative convenience and for mortgages, but they have no intention of letting these children own the real estate when they die.
They bequest the properties to other children without realising that a will alone cannot over-ride the eligibility of surviving joint owners to inherit the whole property.
Disputes will inevitably erupt and siblings often end up in painful and expensive legal tussles, all because of poor legacy planning.
One local family ended up in the High Court recently because the parents, who had two sons and a daughter, included the name of older son in their two properties but willed the assets to the youngest one.
The surviving joint owner refused to relinquish his right over the assets so the sister and her younger brother, who were named executors of their parents’ wills, sued their older brother to compel him honour their parents’ wishes.
The older brother lost because his siblings could prove that he also knew that his parents never intended to give both properties to him.
How the parties became joint owners
Sometime in 1983, the couple rented a shophouse in Ang Mo Kio from the Housing Board to run a department store.
In 1995, they got the chance to buy the shop at around $500,000 and they did so with a loan. A similar shophouse there is selling at over $2.5 million today.
At that time, the couple listed their eldest child as a joint owner as he was the only child who had reached 21 then.
In 1999, the couple bought a house in the Yio Chu Kang area for about $1 million. The eldest child’s name was also included as an owner in this property.
In 2013, the mother died and her will stated that all her shares in the two properties would go to her youngest son.
Her husband died six years later and his will also left his shares of properties to the same son.
In determining who gets what in such a case, judges have to look at how much money each party put into the asset and what were their intentions when it came to the ownership arrangement.
High Court judge Philip Jeyaretnam noted that until their mother died, none of the siblings knew who would get the properties nor did they know the legal implications of the ownership.
But it was telling that the eldest son wrote this e-mail to his siblings after their mother’s will was read: “I don’t know what the properties would be. I suspect that we may have used joint tenancy for both. I wasn’t involved in the shophouse – I just signed.”
He also noted that he did not remember the lawyers explaining the implications of the ownership of the house to his parents or him.
Such statements led Justice Jeyaretnam to disbelieve the man’s testimony that his parents had wanted him to inherit both properties. This was supported by the fact that he said nothing about his parents’ alleged intentions that he should have complete ownership of both properties after the mother’s will was read.
Had he done so, his siblings could have checked with their father, who was still alive then.
“(He) said nothing about it because at that time he did not believe that his parents had ever told him such a thing. He has in the intervening years either made this up or mistakenly convinced himself that it happened,” the judge noted.
As the parents clearly did not want the eldest son to inherit their properties, the rule of survivorship would not apply.
While it was clear that this son would not inherit both properties totally, Justice Jeyaretnam made the following orders so that he could get back what he had paid into his parents’ properties.
1. The shophouse belonged to the parents only but $120,000 had to be refunded to their eldest son for paying for part of its loan.
2. The house would be owned by the parents and the same son in equal shares because he had consistently paid for one-third of the mortgage. In addition, the son will also have an additional $271,000 refunded to him for redeeming the outstanding loan.
What you should do
There is an important lesson to be learnt from this case: A joint owner cannot just will his part away to another party because the other joint owner will surely contest this.
While the couple’s wills were eventually enforced in this case, it was done only after a painful court battle that all families should try to avoid.
The only way the parent can safely pass his or her property to the desired beneficiary would be to make a prior application under the law to sever the joint ownership and clarify just how much share each joint owner would have.
This is something that all joint owners should note because it is not uncommon for relatives or even friends to sometimes invest in property together. So if you do not want to be caught by the “survivor takes all” rule, you should consult your lawyer and get the necessary papers done so that it is clear who gets what.
Such measures can go a long way to preserve peace and harmony in families.
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When a joint owner does not inherit the property
SINGAPORE – Many people hold real estate in joint names because there is a legal benefit in doing so – if one party dies, the other joint owner inherits the property – but there can be pitfalls as well.
Lawyers usually advise those making legacy plans for their properties that this rule of “survivorship” will apply even if the owners make other arrangements in their wills.
So if you don’t want your share in a property to automatically pass on to the other joint owner upon death, you need to sign a legal document to sever the joint ownership.
This will ensure that the joint owner has only a specified share in the property.
But a recent landmark ruling by Singapore’s highest court appears to accord some flexibility to such rigid rules. It noted that a surviving joint owner of a property does not have an automatic right to inherit the property if this is clearly not the intention of the other owner.
This is especially so if the surviving joint owner did not pay anything for the share in the property.
The Court of Appeal made the ruling in a case that involved a Housing Board flat that was in the joint names of a man and his daughter. When the man died, the daughter automatically became the sole owner, to the consternation of her six sisters and a brother.
This ignited a legal tussle over the three-room flat because the man had left a will stating that the flat would go to his only son.
The daughter, who was the joint owner, won her case in the High Court because it ruled that she could inherit the flat as a joint owner.
But the Court of Appeal overturned this decision because there was sufficient evidence to show that the man did not intend his flat to go to that daughter.
The court granted the family’s request for the flat to be sold so that the proceeds would go the man’s estate and be distributed according to his will. This meant that the son would get the proceeds of the sale.
This ruling is expected to have an impact on property inheritance planning, especially for HDB flats, which are usually held in joint names. Moreover, many parents register their children as joint owners of their HDB flats, so this ruling will be relevant in cases with similar circumstances.
When joint ownership is in dispute
The man in this recent case owned a hair salon and bought the three-room flat in the Kallang area in 1975. It was not revealed how much he paid for it, but a similar unit in his estate is now for sale at between $320,000 and $400,000.
Some time in 1981, one of his daughters was registered as a joint owner of the flat.
In 2001, another daughter was also registered as an owner, but she later removed her name as she wanted to apply for her own flat.
In 2015, the man died and in his will, the “traditional patriarch” left the flat and his money to his only son. Indeed, prior to his death, he had also made his son the only partner of his hair salon even though some of his daughters also worked there.
The daughter who was the joint owner refused to give up the property as she could inherit it upon her father’s death. So one of her sisters, who was appointed the executor of their father’s will, took her to court.
The High Court ruled in favour of the joint owner, noting that the 1981 document stated that the property was transferred to her “by gift”.
It is common for families to give property to spouses or children by way of “gifts” so that there is no need for the recipients to pay anything for the property.
But the Court of Appeal took a different view of the 1981 transaction, noting that the man probably did not understand what the term “by gift” on the document meant because he could not read English.
The court also considered other evidence that showed that he had no intention of giving his flat to that daughter.
1. She was included as a joint owner then for “administrative convenience” because she was the only child suitable to be an owner under HDB rules at the time.
He had moved out of the flat after his wife died and he wanted a joint owner because he was worried that the unit might be taken back if an owner did not live there.
2. Despite their being joint owners of the flat, the man actually asked that his daughter pay rent, which showed that he behaved as if he was the sole owner.
3. There was no evidence to show that the man was close to this daughter, because he clearly favoured his only son.
As a result, the court ordered the daughter to sell the flat and be accountable to her father’s estate for all income and losses relating to the property. She also had to pay the legal costs of $40,000 incurred by the family.
What families should do to avoid legal battles
Lawyer Ivan Lee Tze Chuen, who won the case for the family, says the ruling shows that joint property ownership is not a done deal and that if there are special circumstances surrounding a transfer, the surviving joint owner may not inherit the property.
Normally, the rule of survivorship is favoured by married couples because it allows a spouse to inherit the property should the other one die. It becomes complicated only when the owners have different plans, especially when children are involved.
Mr Lee has some tips for families in similar circumstances.
• Use power of attorney
If elderly parents only want their children to help them manage their properties, it is better to create a power of attorney – a legal right to do things on behalf of the parents – instead of including them as joint owners.
“This completely obviates the risk of the property going to the child, as the child is never an owner of the property,” Mr Lee says.
• Giving shares in properties
A parent can add a child as a “tenant-in-common” by giving him or her only a share in the property. In this way, the child will not be able to inherit the whole property when the parent dies as the remaining shares in it will be distributed according to the parent’s will.
• Extra steps for joint owners
If a parent wants to add a child as a joint owner but does not want him or her to be the sole owner upon the parent’s death, it is imperative that this intention is recorded in unequivocal terms.
It is important for the parent to state his intention clearly because such transfers will usually be treated under the law as a gift from the owner to the new joint owner.
Mr Lee says there are several ways to get this done, noting that most people prefer to have a document to state the purpose of the transfer.
The new joint owner can be asked to sign an acknowledgement that his name is included purely for administrative convenience and that the parent has no intention of giving him or her the property.
“In this digital age, even a WhatsApp message or e-mail to the child would suffice. It would also be prudent to circulate the message to your potential beneficiaries so that it can be used as evidence of your intention if any dispute arises,” Mr Lee says.
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The perils of leaving without wills
Without a will, you are unable to exclude or include beneficiaries, and your family faces additional trauma
In 1973, I appeared before the Honourable Chief Justice Wee Chong Jin in the High Court. I represented a woman and her daughter who were making a claim against the woman’s two sons in the same family. Her husband, the patriarch of the family, had recently died without making a will and the parties were in a dispute over the intestate settlement.
Soon after the opening statements, the Honourable Chief Justice adjourned the hearing and called both of us counsel into his chamber. I remember him looking sternly at us with much displeasure.
“Do you realise what you are doing to the family?” he asked in a measured tone. Without waiting for our reply, he continued: “You are contributing to the disharmony of the family! Tell the parties, I want them to settle this matter amicably out of court.” And with that, he adjourned the hearing.
The matter was settled out of court, and amicably too. Within a few months of the settlement, the aged mother died. I attended the funeral and was grateful to note that the siblings were together in harmony, bidding farewell to their late mother.
It could have been otherwise had the matter dragged on acrimoniously in court. The last few months of the matriarch’s life would have been filled with recriminations as she watched her children fight among themselves.
I learnt incredibly early in my practice that a person dying without making a will risks tearing the family apart over disagreements in the way the estate is distributed under the default Intestate Succession Act (This law does not apply to Muslims. There are separate laws governing Muslim estates).
The will, by definition, is a legal document expressing a person’s (the testator) wishes as to how his property (the estate) is to be distributed after his death, and as to which person (the executor) is to manage the property until its final distribution.
When you make a will, it allows you to determine who gets what, and to appoint a trusted person to help you manage its distribution.
Without the will, your wishes about who should benefit from your estate is anybody’s guess. Family members and loved ones could be left without the financial security you want them to have.
Without a will, intestacy laws will take over management and distribution of your estate. What the law determines is not necessarily what you want. Hence, without a will, there is no executor and an administrator would have to be appointed and he may act against your wishes.
Effectively, without a will, when you die, you give up control to the Public Trustee. It can be extremely frustrating for your family and can lead to an arduous, and often acrimonious, court process to determine how the assets are to be distributed.
When you make a will, it allows you to determine who gets what, and to appoint a trusted person to help you manage its distribution. Without the will, your wishes about who should benefit from your estate is anybody’s guess. Family members and loved ones could be left without the financial security you want them to have.
CHILD GUARDIANSHIP CAN BE IN LIMBO
Should you have children who are minors (below 21 years old) and should you and your spouse die at the same time, there will be uncertainty over the guardianship of your children. The choice of guardian to care for your children falls into the hands of the Public Guardian. They may end up being raised by someone other than the person or persons you would otherwise have chosen.
We may not care so much about the money or property we leave behind, but we would want to make sure that our children are in the hands of someone we can trust to give the best care to them, should the unthinkable happen.
ELDERLY PARENTS MAY GET NOTHING
If you are divorced and a single parent, complications can arise because your former spouse may be able to again access to your assets as the surviving parent of your children. There are also many other unintended consequences. Elderly parents you intend to care for, for instance, may be left high and dry, if you have a surviving spouse and children. Intestacy laws distribute only to your spouse and children without regard to your needy parents who survive you.
If you are religious and have a certain preference for your funeral rites, you may end up having a rite that is not your religious choice. And worse, in the case of a multi-religious family, it may cause dispute among the survivors over funeral customs and burial rites that can tear an already grieving family apart.
YOUR MONEY CAN GO TO PEOPLE YOU DISLIKE
In the event of a common disaster (where your entire immediate family perishes in an accident, for instance), your estate may go to a relative that you may not like or have never even spoken to.
When you die without a will, loved ones who are not related to you receive nothing. If you have non-profit organisations you care about – such as a place of worship, educational institution, or charity – they also will receive nothing.
If you have no relatives identified by the intestacy law, the state will end up taking over your estate.
A family business or heirloom may not be able to stay in your family because it may be necessary to liquidate the assets. If you own a business and do not have a plan in place to address what happens after your death, you will not be able to determine who will own and control the business and how it will be run. Your family could be at risk of losing control of the business altogether.
Simply put, without a will, you are unable to exclude or include beneficiaries. You abdicate your responsibility and rely on the authorities to determine the economic fate of your family and loved ones. In such a situation, a grieving family ends up suffering additional emotional and mental trauma.
The good news is, these problems are avoidable. All you need to do is plan ahead, consult a lawyer and make a will. A will gives you control over how you handle your affairs after you are no longer around. It will ensure that you bless whomever you wish. It is the best way to protect the future financial security of all your loved ones within and outside the family.
In my view, making a will is integral to living well and leaving well.
• Dr William Wan is the general secretary of the Singapore Kindness Movement and the author of Straits Times Press’ book, Through The Valley: The Art Of Living And Leaving Well.
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CPF monies not covered by a will
Under the Central Provident Fund (CPF) Act, CPF monies do not form part of a deceased member’s estate and are not covered by a will (“Hassle.to claim late grandma’s CPF money…” by Ms Chan Jee May; Nov 30).
CPF members who wish to specify who will receive their CPF monies, and how much each nominee should receive upon their demise, can make a CPF nomination.
Where CPF members have not made a nomination, their CPF monies will be passed to the public trustee for distribution under the intestacy/ inheritance laws of Singapore.
As Ms Chan’s grandmother had not made a nomination for her CPF monies, the CPF Board forwarded the monies to the Public Trustee’s Office (PTO), which serves as the administrator of un-nominated CPF monies.
The PTO is required to verify that a claimant is recognised as a beneficiary under the law, in order to distribute un-nominated CPF monies.
As part of the verification process, the claimant is required to provide supporting documentation, such as birth and marriage certificates.
In this specific case, as the required documents are not available, the claimant was advised to arrange for her grandmother’s brother to make a statutory declaration on the relationship.
This can be done either with a lawyer or at the PTO’s premises.
Once the statutory declaration has been made, the PTO will then assess the claim, based on the information provided in the statutory declaration.
The CPF Board and PTO have contacted Ms Chan to clarify the process and will provide the necessary assistance to resolve the matter.
Praveen Randhawa (Ms)
Director
Corporate Communications Ministry of Law
Irene Kang (Ms)
Group Director of Communications
Central Provident Fund Board
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Both administrator and executor are trustees
PUBLISHED JUN 11, 2016, in Straits Times
Administrator comes in when a person dies without leaving a will
Reader Albert Tan wrote to askST with questions about wills:
“Firstly, what is the difference between an administrator and a trustee stated in a person’s will?
“Does a trustee need to apply for a court’s permit or approval to execute the content of the deceased’s will?
“Finally, is there a time limit for a will to be executed when a person dies?”
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Senior Law Correspondent K.C. Vijayan answers.
First, on the difference between an administrator and a trustee:
The administrator comes in when a deceased person has not left a will to deal with his assets.
A person has to apply to court to be the administrator of the estate of a deceased person who has not left a will.
Someone who has left a will would have named an executor in the document.
Both the administrator and the executor are trustees of the deceased’s assets.
They will act to distribute the assets to beneficiaries and pay out expenses incurred in administration in accordance with the Probate & Administration Act and also the Trustees Act where applicable.
An executor’s job is to ensure the estate left by a deceased person is properly accounted for, and distributed, in accordance with the explicit instructions of the deceased.
Where there is no will, the Intestate Succession Act provides for distribution of the deceased’s assets.
A trustee’s job is also to ensure that proceeds left to a particular person – who may be handicapped, mentally unwell or incapable of handling his affairs, et cetera – are properly managed and accounted for.
Second, on whether an executor needs the court’s permission to deal with the content of the deceased’s will:
An executor will have to apply to court to take out a probate to deal with the will. This is to ensure the will is affirmed as bona fide, and due authority is obtained to deal with the assets.
Finally, the time limit for the pro- per execution of a will. The courts expect a will to be executed within a “reasonable time” of a person’s death.
For practical reasons, this would be within six months of the person’s death. Beyond that, reasons will have to be furnished to the court for the delay.
The time factor is meant to avoid practical difficulties such as tracing the assets after death which, if left for too long, may dissipate.
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