Picture this: five years from now, you get into a fatal accident with your husband. If you don’t have any kids yet, what’s going to happen to your joint assets, like your house and bank account?
Picture this: five years from now, you get into a fatal accident with your husband. If you don’t have any kids yet, what’s going to happen to your joint assets, like your house and bank account?
If you died without a will – which means you’ve died intestate – your assets will be distributed according to the Intestate Succession Act (applicable to non-Muslims only). And according to the law, the older spouse is presumed to have died first – which means the joint assets would be handed over to the younger spouse. Following the younger spouse’s passing, his or her parents would gain ownership of all of the joint assets. So if your future husband is younger than you are, all of your money and property would go to his parents if you two are childless, leaving nothing for your own parents if you don’t have a will. Bet you didn’t know that, huh? Besides making sure your own family is taken care of in case of an unexpected death, having a will in place helps to prevent disputes. “But I only have eight dollars to my name,” you say. We hear you. That’s what we thought too, but as it turns out, most of us would still have a few things that need to be taken care of. “You will probably have: a bank account; a coverage under the Dependants’ Protection Scheme for $48,000; insurance coverage from your employer; and personal insurance policies,” says will writer Patrick Chang from Simply Wills. “It is not the quantum of the assets, but the nature of the assets that matters,” adds Rayney Wong, Director of Vision Law LLC.
How to do it
While it’s not mandatory to have a lawyer to help you draw up a will, it’s highly recommended. “To save money, some people tried to write their own wills but fail to comply with the requirements of a valid will – like having two witnesses present at the time of signing – and the estate fell into intestacy laws instead,” reveals Rayney. So how much does it cost to lawyer up? Depending on the complexity of your will, it can cost between $300 and $800. Alternatively, there are companies which are not law firms, that offer professional will writing services that might charge you lower rates.
What should go in it
Basically, anything that you own, like your bank account, your car, and any investments that you might have should be distributed in your will. It might also be worth setting up a meeting with your insurance agent to talk about which of your policies have payouts that are triggered by death, and if the proceeds would be paid out to any specific person. Oh, and if at this point you’re thinking, what about my CPF account? You can’t specify who should get your CPF savings in your will – instead, you’ll have to make a CPF nomination. Otherwise, your CPF assets will be distributed according to intestacy laws.
Down the road…
After you’ve drawn up your will, remember to review it from time to time, such as when you get married, have kids, or even acquired a new property under your name. “For example, if the relationship with a person named in the will turns sour, usually the client will want to remove that person. The passing of the person mentioned in the will, will also trigger a review,” adds Patrick. And here’s an interesting nugget of information: a divorce doesn’t automatically remove your ex-husband from your will. Just FYI!
